Recipe: Spanakopita Bites

Tis the season for good food, family, and friends. And to start that out this Thanksgiving I'm going to be sharing some of the recipes of what's going on at my house. Now, while you have your turkeys or ham (or cornish hens in my case) cooking in the oven, your guests are going to need something to munch on in the mean time. So this is what I made to day to keep the rumbling bellies at bay. Spanakopita bites!

I originally found the recipe at What's Cooking Chicago. It said to use mini cupcake pans, but I used a regular cupcake pan and they were still awesome!

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach. thawed and squeezed dry (I used a bag of fresh spinach chopped and it still turned out good)
4 to 6 ounces domestic feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound phyllo, thawed
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add white and green chopped onions; cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix spinach, feta, cottage cheese and egg in medium bowl. Add cooked onions and season with salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the remaining butter and oil and set aside until ready to use.

Remove the phyllo dough from the package and stack up. Carefully cut the phyllo dough into 2 inch by 2 inch squares; set aside.

Prepare your mini muffin pan by brushing butter in each well. Place 1-2 squares of phyllo dough into each well, pushing down to create a cup or crust. Brush the top phyllo filled wells with more melted butter and repeat by placing 1-2 squares of phyllo dough into each well and pushing down to create a cup or crust again. Repeat with another layer of 1-2 squares of phyllo dough and brush with more melted butter.

Place a heaping teaspoon into each well, filling the phyllo cup.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Then serve & enjoy!!!!