Kitchen

[house cat]

I have a bagful of baked eggplant slices in my freezer. I thought I'd make moussaka tomorrow and I'd like to plan a menu around it.

I figured a Greek salad would be a no-brainer to go with it.

Can someone tell me what else I can do that is not too labor intensive. I don't have as much time or energy as I wish I had.

Thank you.

[Cardamom]

I love Greek food. You can buy frozen Spanikopita. They are pockets of spinach and cheese wrapped in filo sheets. My grocery store carries them as well as trader Joe's if you have one. You could also serve hummus and pita bread.

[house cat]

On 5/3/2014 Cardamom said: I love Greek food. You can buy frozen Spanikopita. They are pockets of spinach and cheese wrapped in filo sheets. My grocery store carries them as well as trader Joe's if you have one. You could also serve hummus and pita bread.

I love hummus, but my oldsters won't eat it.

I thought there was a chopped olive type dish that could be eaten with hummus. I don't know what it's called. Maybe it's not Greek.

[Zhills]

Spanakopita

2 Tbs olive oil
1 packet frozen chopped spinach (or 1 lb of fresh spinach)
1 small red onion chopped
½ pound good feta
½ pound ricotta cheese
2 Tbsp parmesan
2 eggs beaten
½ C parsley
Fresh ground black pepper

1. In a frying pan heat the olive oil and sweat the onions. Add the spinach and cook until the excess water has evaporated. (If using frozen spinach either defrost it first or add a little water to the pan to get it started).

2. In a large mixing bowl add the ricotta, parmesan and crumble in the feta. Add the black pepper and parsley. Beat eggs and stir into cheese mixture.

3. Add COOLED spinach mixture to the cheese/egg mixture.

4. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Because the feta is salty I never add salt, but this is up to you.

This mixture can be sandwiched between layers of phyllo dough or puffed pastry. Some recipes call for nutmeg, dill or oregano. I do not like it with oregano. The one here is a milder but delicious spinach pie.

[heregoes]

How about some Greek green beans? You can omit the potatoes if you don't want them.

These are really easy & good, & are best if you use a heavy pot with a lid.

Greek Green Beans in Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil, or more

2 pounds fresh or frozen green beans, NOT canned

4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (peeled), or equal amount (4 cups) of canned tomatoes in juice, or just use tomato sauce

1 pound potatoes (about 2 large ones)

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

salt & pepper

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 - 1 teaspoon oregano

How to:

Clean & string the green beans & cut off the ends

Peel & cut the potatoes into thick slices

Heat the olive oil in the heavy pot, & saute the onions & garlic until soft

Add half the parsley & give it a few stirs

Add the tomatoes, oregano, salt & pepper, & bring to a simmer

Add the thick sliced potatoes, & last the green beans

Add water, but just enough to barely cover everything.

Bring to boil, cover w/ lid, turn down heat to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until everything is tender & soft.

Stir a bit once in awhile & make sure it's not sticking on the bottom.

About 15 minutes before it's done, stir in the rest of the parsley, cover & finish cooking.

Don't forget some nice thick bread for dunking into the sauce!

Enjoy your party.

[house cat]

Oh, my! Both of those recipes look D E L I C I O U S !

I was looking for something more simple to accompany this meal, as it's just hubby and me and two oldsters. I am looking forward to making those another time.

Thank you so much for posting those wonderful recipes!

[JustJules]

I love Greek cuisine, moussaka sounds like a great idea for your eggplant. We had some fabulous Greek restaurants where I used to live, now I don't have a single one around miss that wonderful food. Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) are really delicious, but that is a bit labor intensive to make. Also Pastitsio (Greek lasagna) is wonderful but takes time. Most Greek food is a labor of love, but soooooo worth it.

You could always just grill some chicken and do stuffed pitas, or make a Tzatziki sauce and serve it with fresh veggies and pita bread to dip. Ina Garten of food network has a great recipe...

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tzatziki-recipe.html

It's a pity Adore is away right now, she always had the best Greek recipes. Whatever you decide to make it sounds delicious! Wish I was coming to your house for dinner

[jetts_mom]

My local grocery store sells a Greek tomato and cucumber salad in their deli, and it's delicious. It's a mix of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, red salad onions, sliced kalmata olives and feta cheese. It's tossed in a dressing that's either little olive oil and lemon juice, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, or it could be a Greek vinaigrette.

[HUENEME GIRL]

We have traveled in Greece numerous times and a staple of most meals are oven browned potatoes and baked carrots. The potatoes are at least quartered and olive oil is spooned over for browning. Warm pita on the side. You can buy a commercial hummus if you like.

If you don't want to make moussaka you can heat and mash the eggplant adding garlic, lemon and some salt and serve on crusty bread.

For Easter I boned a leg of lamb and pounded it out to resemble a thick sirloin. I marinated it overnight in lemon juice orange juice and olive oil with 2 cloves of garlic put thru the press to make it penetrate the meat. I broiled it like a steak and it was fabulous!

[house cat]

I'm so glad I started this thread. I'm so interested in your insights. I've modified the moussaka in the following ways -

I had oven baked eggplant slices, instead of frying them.

I'm using oven baked potato slices too. I make oven fries regularly now, and don't see why that method won't work as well for this.

Also, I'm using lean ground beef rather than lamb.

Btw, this is not a party, so I don't have to make a lot of food for this dinner. I bring a special Sunday dinner to my mom and dad each week… as opposed to the simpler meals that I bring them during the week. Even though I like to jazz it up a bit on Sunday, they are not big eaters, nor is my husband, so I don't want to go overboard.

I'm looking forward to trying some of these other dishes on a regular weeknight.

Thanks again for all the helpful comments.