Spinach Balls (appetizer)

These are so yummy! They have a strange appearance, due to the spinach, but once people try them they'll be gone! I make these for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner to serve as an appetizer.

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Easy and delicious, frozen 1/3 of the recipe and had the spinach balls as a side dish with an Indian Curry. I did add a few dashes of chili sauce to the batch that I froze and it could take it with no problem!!

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fast, easy and tasty. Keeps fine in freezer, when guys come for cigar smoke, they toss 'em down fast.

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Excellent do ahead appetizer. It is nice to have frozen appetizers available. I served these with Miller's Oyster Stuffed tomatoes. The contrast between red and green. . . . hot and cold was perfect. Thanks Bergy

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Very good appetizer! I have been making these for a couple years, and every time I do, they disappear. I have to admit that I changed up the recipe from the start, just to add some other flavors and a little complexity, but I would say that this is a great base recipe to start from.

I add a few strips of crumbled bacon, and have also added roasted garlic (yum!) or sauteed garlic (minced and heated it up with the butter that is called for), green onion, and a handful of shredded mozzarella or crumbled feta. I tweak the spices depending on my mood and what they will be served with. Personally, we like the "green" flavor and texture, but I am certain that altering the ratios to suit your taste would be pretty easy.

I would give this 5 stars because we love it so much, but without the addition of other ingredients, it is just missing a little something. In fact, I made these for a party last year, and someone else made them as well just using the basic recipe (what are the odds?!). And though while hers were eaten, the ones I made with more flavors were devoured, and she even asked what I did differently so that she could adjust her recipe. And as others have said, GREAT to have on hand in the freezer. For sure a keeper recipe!

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I just got done making these (test batch for thanksgiving) and I made the 1st 2 dozen ALMOST exactly to the recipe; I only used 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) and I cooked from fresh for almost 20 mins (and for other recipes in the past I've thought my oven ran hot). I REALLY like them but then I love spinach. For fun, and based on other reviews, I sauteed 4-5 cloves of minced garlic in some olive oil and then blended that in; I also love garlic so this was great. Last 2 dozen I puree'd a small jar of artichoke hearts and added those in - also good. I will make these again and think they'd be fabulous with feta. I'd also like to try them without stuffing but not sure what a healthy sub would be that could keep these together...? To summarize; I think these are great 'as is' but ALSO make a great base for a plethora of cheeses & seasonings based on personal preference. Oh, and while they are DEFINITELY best hot they are actually tasty room temp as well.

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Based on the other reviewers' comments about the texture of these, I decided to mix the ingredients in my food processor. The final texture was fine, but they lacked a bit of something--perhaps salt. Because of the raw egg, it is hard to pre-taste these. I did cook a few tests in the microwave, but they came out differently from how they tasted baked in the oven. I agree with the other reviewers that maybe they could use a dip like sour cream. Nevertheless, a very handy appetizer that can be made ahead. This is a keeper.

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About 20 years ago a nurse I worked with made these and I have loved them ever since, only thing is I lost the recipe a couple years back and couldnt remember all the ingredients. The only thing I do differently is after I roll them into balls, I wrap a half a slice a bacon around them and bake them with a toothpick in them to hold them together. These are FABULOUS!

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Great little appie. The texture threw me off at first but I stuck with it and they got thicker.The flavour was great- dipped them in sour cream. Friends gobbled them up. Thanks bergy.

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This is a very unique and delicious appetizer, which could also be pressed into service as a nice side dish, too. I first had this when a friend of mine brought these to a party at my house, and I was so pleased to find a recipe for them! I made them exactly as directed and took them to a potluck at work, where they were quickly snarfed down by the hungry hordes! Next time, I think I would cut back on the butter by about half, and probably on the number of eggs, as I found the mixture to be pretty goopy and a bit hard to shape into balls. For my taste, I would also add a bit of freshly-grated nutmeg as well, since it complements spinach so nicely. Thanks, Bergy, for a wonderful recipe featuring my very favorite vegetable of all time!

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These are simple and delicious and guests love them!

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These were pretty good, all that I made got eaten. In the end I wished there was less spinach and more stovetop. So why didn't I just make the stovetop? :) Maybe if there was a way to make these with broccoli they would be a little less "green" tasting.

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I love love love these! However I did make several changes which may have made it a little harder on myself but it was worth it to add flavor. Instead of cooking the spinach and draining it I cooked it in a skillet using only half the butter called for in the recipe. I added finely chopped onions and 3 cloves of garlic. I seasoned with nutmeg, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt and finely ground fresh ginger. I also added 1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste. I added the spinach and cooked the water out until it was completely dry. I let it cool then added the rest of the stuff. I also halved the Parmesan and added 1 cup of shredded mozzarella as a personal preference. Also, i was out of frozen spinach so I used two 13.5 oz. spinach cans, drained. I think this is why I didn't have a hard time rolling them up as per other reviews suggested. Thanks for a cool recipe!

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These were decent and received a lot of compliments, but I thought they had too much of a stuffing taste. So if you are not too keen on stuffing (like me) you may not like these as well as others do. They do cool fast and are only good when warm. I also baked mine longer about 20 minutes because they didn't look cooked through. These are good to bring somewhere when you want something different.

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These were delicious! I made a few small changes to lighten them up a little (trying to get a head start on the old new year's resolution) and they were so flavorful without tasting "light." I sauteed finely diced onions in olive oil and then added in the spinach along with a pinch of nutmeg. I used about 3 T of butter, 1 whole egg and the rest egg whites. I was worried that without the full amount of butter, that they might be dry, so I also added a splash or 2 of chicken stock. Rolling them into balls was messy, but do-able and freezing makes them easy to handle later. I am definitely going to make these again--a double batch to have on hand in the freezer!!

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These were just ok. I cut the recipe in half and just baked half of the balls I prepared. I may add more stuffing mix and parmesan cheese. I may get crazy and add some mozzerella cheese to them as well. I added nutmeg as other cooks suggested and tasted a little bit of that, but I didnt' like how the spinach and stuffing were so overpowering. I was hoping to get a variety of flavors and was dissapointed.

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Unbelievable. These will ALWAYS be in my freezer from now on. Put them out for Christmas lunch appy's- people asked why I didn't make more.Thanks for sharing!

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Bergy, you are the absolute Best!! Thanks! And as others have noted, add the bacon. Just do it...you already have butter to clog the ol' arteries, throw in about four or five slices of crispy maple flavored bacon torn into small pieces or shredded. These spinach balls are excellent. I have come to the conclusion that - we have to eat - don't waste your time eating fast food or food that is not scrumptious. And, the star power by bringing these to a party is priceless. I placed them on crackers and they made the most beautiful appetizers. Merry Christmas everyone! Eat as much as you want, but make sure it's GOOD food!!

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These were great. I only had 1 pkg of spinach so I halved everything and then by mistake added the entire box of stuffing mix. I also decided to leave out the butter. These are so easy and we loved them. Thanks for the recipe.

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I brought these to a party and I was chased down by several people who wanted the recipe. I was also emailed with the same request. These are awesome and so easy to make! Love them! Thank you so much for sharing!

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