Spanakopetes (My In-Law's Spinach Poopies)

My In-Laws loved to cook together and prepared wonderful food. When I was dating my husband, on the weekends the family would gather in the family room adjoining the kitchen, listen to Prairie Home Companion and chat about the week while my In-Laws whipped up something great. During one of these evenings they taught me to make these. My BIL dubbed them "Spinach Poopies" and the name stuck - even my kids now call them that. These are wonderful and can be made ahead to be pulled out of the freezer for meals during a busy work week or served as hors d'oeuvres.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Yields: 6 dozen triangles

Ingredients

• 6 -8  green onions, finely chopped
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1  lb fresh spinach, washed and finely chopped
• 1⁄2 lb ricotta cheese or 1⁄2 lb cream cheese
• 1⁄2 lb feta cheese, crumbled
• 2  eggs
• 1⁄3 cup  dry breadcrumbs, finely ground
• 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1  dash pepper
• 3  tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1⁄2 lb phyllo dough
• 3⁄4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large frying pan saute onions in olive oil until limp.
2. Add spinach and cook over medium high heat just until limp.
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
4. In a medium bowl, beat together ricotta or cream cheese, feta, eggs, bread crumbs, Parmesan, pepper, parsley, and nutmeg.
5. Stir in sauteed vegetables.
6. Lightly grease several baking sheets.
7. When you work with fila dough you must work fast so that it doesn't dry out so gather your fila, spinach filling, melted butter and baking sheet around a flat work surface.
8. Dampen a tea towel and wring out the moisture so that it isn't wet - just damp.
9. Lay out one sheet of fial at a time - keep remaining fila covered the damp tea towel and/or clear plastic film.
10. Cut the one sheet into strips 3-inches wide and about 12-inches long.
11. Brush each strip lightly with the melted butter.
12. Place a rounded teaspoon of spinach-ceese filling on one end of a fila strip and fold over one corner.
13. Continue folding from side to side, making a triangle.
14. Place on the baking sheet.
15. Proceed in this manner, making pastry triangles with remaining fila and filling.
16. Brush tops of triangles with melted butter.
17. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, or until goldn brown.
18. Serve hot.
19. They can be made ahead and frozen. When I do this I cook them for only 10 minutes - a pale golden - so that they get darker when reheated.
20. To freeze, let cool and freeze on a tray so that triangles are not touching.
21. When frozen, they can be moved to an airtight container and frozen for up to a month.
22. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer the number you want and thaw.
23. Reheat in a 350F oven for 15 minutes or until hot through and crispy.