Two very easy meals

Spanakorizo

For some reason it seems that it has been a while since I wrote.  Even though it has not...Lot's has happened.  My cousin, Alex, came to visit us for a week.  He lives here too but in another city.  Him coming over means only one thing of course: he wants home cooked meals.  I don't blame him.  Unfortunately, food here that is actually good is very expensive.  What else happened?  Hmmm...oh we had a water leakage inside one of our walls.  Yes very common here.  Things here are built to maybe last...what? a few months?  Who knows.  We are used to things breaking actually.  Thus me being so nonchalant about it.  So that meant I had maintenance people coming in and out of the house for 2 days.  That's ok...I am used to that as well.  
So because of all this, plus the fact that I had no time to even go shopping I cooked for my cousin two, as the title says, very easy and super nutritious, I might add, meals.  He likes them and it reminds us home.  Because when my mom had nothing to cook and was out of ideas it was always one of the two that filled our stomachs.  They are both very traditional simple meals.  Greek all the way I think.  Easy to make with the ingredients always available in our fridge or freezer.  
One is spinach and rice called spanakorizo (σπανακόρυζο) and the other is cabbage with rice called lahanorizo (λαχανόρυζο).  Both very rustic type of meals in the Greek cuisine.  And of course, there is no fridge in Greece that doesn't have spinach or cabbage in it.  Therefore, you can always make one of the two when you want something quick and easy, but full of nutrition.  They are always served with feta cheese but you might skip it if you don't like it.  Try them!  You won't regret it.  Especially the cabbage with rice...it has this naturally sweet taste that is yummy!
Give them a try!
Kali Oreksi!
Dia, Kostas and Tony

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 600g fresh spinach whole and washed or frozen
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil
• 100g onions grated
• 60g calrose rice 
• 400ml water
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Lahanorizo

Ingredients for 3 people:

• 700g cabbage roughly chopped
• 170g onions grated
• 70g carrots sliced about 4cm thick
  
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil
• 160g tomato sauce
• 120g calrose rice
• 900ml water 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

for more information on how to make lahanorizo please click here

for more information on how to make spanakorizo please click here