Spanikopita bites

Alright, alright, alriiiight. I meant to say that as in "let's get down to business, I'm back from my hiatus, let's do this", but I'm hearing it in the voice of Matthew McConaughey's creepy older dude character in Dazed and Confused. You know the guy..."I keep getting older, and they stay the saaaame age". Giggity. Gross.

 

Well, that opening paragraph went well out of the direction I planned it to, but that's life, I suppose. It's been a minute since I've given you a recipe, so I figured I better start with a sweet one. Not sweet as in sugary, but sweet as in yumtastical, and a little different than your average appetizer. We recently planned a surprise 30th birthday party for my friend Michelle, and this was one of my contributions to the spread of mouthwatering food. We had the staples...like the buffalo chicken dip and a pony keg of the seasonal pumpkin beer that she loves so much around her birthday. But I wanted to go out of the box a little for my part, and with Michelle and I having similar tastes in food, I thought this sounded delightful, light, and tasty...so I hoped Michelle would too!

 

I found this recipe on Pinterest...naturally...and had been saving it for our next get together. Check out my new bakeware I got from the wedding...cork bottoms to put them in after baking so you dont need a pot holder or a trivet. Yeah, we're moving up in the world.  Anyway, besides being really tasty (in my humble opinion), they were also easier than pie! I did cheat though, I used mini phyllo cups that were already formed (in your freezer section) rather than rolling out the phyllo dough and making my own. Do what you choose...I choose quick :)

 

2 packages phyllo cups

1 small onion, chopped (I left this out because we had an onion hater in our midst, Christina I love you)

3 green onions, chopped

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I used fresh spinach)

6 oz feta cheese, crumbled (I used reduced fat)

1 cup cottage cheese (I used fat free)

1 egg

2 T olive oil

8 T butter (I used 1 T butter for a little flavor)

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add white and green onions, cook until softened (3-4 minutes). Add spinach and butter until spinach is wilted, stirring continuously. Meanwhile, mix feta, cottage cheese, and egg in medium bowl. Add cooked onions and spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

I covered the filling and refrigerated until I went to the party the following night, so that would be your best bet if you're preparing this ahead of time. Otherwise, just scoop the mixed filling into the phyllo cups, and place them in a greased baking dish to cook. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown....they should look like this:

 

 

 

If you use phyllo dough, you will need to roll it out and bake the dough in mini cupcake tins to make these phyllo cups to fill. I skipped that step...

The party went off without a hitch and I was glad I had my food prepared before hand so everyone could munch for the evening and there was not much cooking involved. If I were making this again, I would add some crushed red pepper for a little bite...you know me :) Besides that, these were a wonderful finger food that's a little different than the average dip! Enjoy the first recipe I've given you in a couple weeks...as well as a picture of the birthday girl I will leave you with:

Yeah, that biz had a baby less than 2 months ago...30 and fabulous!!!!