Tomato Spinach Pie

If you like tomatoes and spinach and cheddar you will love this pie!! It goes great with any meat; i usually make if for myself as my meal with garlic bread or brushetta!(my own version). I usuall double this batch and make two pies; one for the dinner that night; one to freeze as they freeze and re-bake quite well!!

TOMATO SPINACH PIE

1 or 2 - deep-dish pie shells baked until light brown

4 - 6 large tomatoes thinly sliced
(amount of tomatos depend on 1-2 pies)

1/4-1/2 cup - Dijon mustard - to brush on bottom & sides of pie shells

1-2 - packages frozen spinach
(completely thawed and as squeeze-drained as possible)

250g(1pie) or 500g(2pies) - medium or old cheddar cheese, grated

dry parmesan cheese or fresh (optional i started using)

basil, tarragon or salt-free mrs. dash - use your favorite! i use sweet basil

MORNING PREPARATIONS:

large cutting board or cookie sheet
almost full roll of paper towels

place double-length paper towel on the board, thinly slice all tomatoes, arranging on paper towel.. add another paper towel, more sliced tomatoe, and so on until you have a 2-sheet pile of sliced tomatoes!! The weight on top of each other, help squeeze out the juice; the paper towels helps cling off the seeds and tomato gel.. to give a dryer pie (wink)

This drying the tomatoes takes hours; so do the morning you are going to make the pie that evening or late afternoon!! You will have to change the paper towels & layers at least 3-4 times; the tomatoes are ready when it leaves little moisture on the paper towels but dont let it dry too much or you will have tomatoes stuck to paper towels! so i dont encourage to do this process the night before, leaving overnight! i did once and lost 7 sliced tomatoes (i wasnt happy!)

ONCE: your tomatoes are fairly dry, de-gelled and de-seeded as much as possible; it's assembly time!

ASSEMBLING THE PIE in LAYERS:

BRUSH: bottom liberally and sides of pre-ready pie crusts with Dijon mustard
ADD: layer of slice tomatoe, going up sides as well
SPRINKLE: with salt, pepper or your favorite spice lightly
BREAK: up the well drained spinach and flake over tomatoe layer
SPRINKLE: on layer of cheddar cheese & sprinkle parmesan on top of that

REPEAT: UNTIL YOU HAVE 3 LAYERS, the last topping would be cheddar; sprinkle on more of your fave spice and/or permesan

BAKE: 350 degree oven 40-50 minutes or until you can't stand the smell anymore!!

This is like... addictive pie, honestly!!