And then came Hurricane Florence – Easy Spinach Pie

Please see update below …


Would you like to hear a not-so-funny story?


Doug and I moved to inland South Carolina 6 months ago
after a 40-year run in south Florida. Our reasons for leaving included the
excessive heat, humidity, and annoying hurricane seasons. We’d had enough!


Our new location suits our needs: an Armenian church in
Charlotte, proximity to a major airport (so we can visit family and travel to
exotic locations), and to avoid the impact of  hurricanes.


And then came Hurricane Florence – barreling into the North
and South Carolina coasts! We’re pretty far inland, but Florence is headed our way as a tropical storm
ready to dump A LOT of rain. Power outages are imminent as is major flooding.
So, I’m trying to write and post this before the lights go
out.


Are we prepared? You bet. Bottled water, gas grill, canned
food, batteries, flashlights, board games, etc.

Right now we’re eating whatever is in the freezer so these
foods won’t go to waste.



Freezer foods we must consume!

I don’t know what my neighbors are chowing-down on, but
here’s what Doug and I have to consume from the freezer- and fast:

Lahmajoun, kufteh, basterma, lavash, fillo dough (you
know, the usual!) and a few other goodies.


I’ll end here so that I can get cooking before it’s too
late. I’ll be back after the storm leaves and power is restored.


Until then …

Update: Florence will be a tropical storm when it reaches
us. This doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods; it just means the winds won’t be
as fierce. The rain is another story.

After I posted the original piece, I got busy in the
kitchen and whipped up a tray of spinach pie with the on-hand ingredients
(recipe follows). Since the oven was on I heated up some lahmajoun as well. A mini side salad, parsley and onions completed our ‘hurricane’ lunch. Not
a bad meal under the circumstances!

Out of the freezer and into the oven – while we still have electricity!



The Armenian Kitchen’s ‘Hurricane’ Lunch

Easy Spinach Pie


Ingredients:

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1-15 oz. bag frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, and squeezed
dry
(This is very important!)

1- 4
oz. container crumbled Feta cheese

2 eggs, beaten

2 Tbsp. Greek-style plain yogurt

2 Tbsp. melted butter

Salt, pepper, dried dill, dried oregano, to taste (Note:
Go easy on the salt as the Feta cheese provides plenty!)

Fillo dough sheets (I used 5 sheets for this.)

4 Tbsp. melted butter for brushing


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.


Lightly grease an 8” x 11” baking pan.


In a skillet, sauté the sliced onions in olive oil, until
onion is softened, but not browned. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.


In a mixing bowl, combined all of the ingredients except
the fillo dough and the brushing butter.


Open the fillo pkg. and remove the sheets, covering them with
a lightly dampened tea towel and plastic wrap to prevent the sheets from drying
out.


Working with one sheet at a time, place in the baking dish
so that the sheets hang over the 2 long sides. Brush each sheet with butter
until the 5 sheets are used.


Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the fillo sheets which cover the bottom of the baking pan.
Fold the hanging fillo sheets toward the center, brushing with extra melted
butter, if necessary. Make sure the fillo dough covers the spinach filling.
Brush additional butter on the top fillo layer.


Using a sharp knife, cut through the layers into serving
pieces.


Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

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