Giveaway: Allen's Spinach Makes a Delicious Appetizer

So the other day I get an e-mail from a lovely woman who works with Allen's Vegetables about a giveaway opportunity for their product for Vegetarian Awareness Week. Though I'm not a vegetarian by any stretch, I love veggie appetizers and sides as a healthy alternative, and I try to go meat-free once a week if I can.

Plus, the student in me perked up at the idea of free food and the cook in me reveled in the idea of trying a new recipe.

How cute is this? Reminds me of my childhood.

I gave the product a try, and I have to say — I was pleasantly surprised! I always shied away from canned veggies, but the spinach was very close in flavor to frozen spinach and much easier to prep — no defrosting or cooking necessary.

I used Justin as a guinea pig and made these spinach rolls for happy hour paired with a chilled Pinto Grigio. It made a great combination.

Here's my version:

Crunchy, cheesy, buttery and somehow still light.

Popeye Spinach Triangles
Preparation and Cooking Time:45 minutes
Ingredients1 can (13.5 oz.) Popeye Spinach
1/4 to 1/2 lb. butter, melted
6 green onions, minced
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
2 Tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill weed
Fresh ground pepper
8 or 12 phyllo pastry sheets
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (four slices)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Drain spinach well, pressing to remove as much moisture as possible. Saute onion in 1 Tablespoon butter. Combine onions, spinach, cheese, 2 Tablespoons breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, dill weed, and pepper. 

Triangles: Brush 1 sheet phyllo dough with melted butter. Cut into 2-inch wide strips. Cover remaining dough with wax paper and damp towel to prevent drying. With 2-inch edge toward you, place 1 level teaspoon cheese mixture on left hand corner of strip. Fold corner with filling up and to the right, diagonally and straight until a triangle is formed. Place on a baking sheet; brush with melted butter. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until puffy and brown. Serve warm. 

Slices: Place 1 phyllo sheet lengthwise in front of you on a sheet of waxed paper. Brush with butter and sprinkle with fresh breadcrumbs. Repeat until 4 phyllo sheets are stacked. Spread 1/3 of spinach mixture over top phyllo sheet. Roll tightly as for a jelly roll, using waxed paper to lift and guide the roll. Transfer to baking sheet. Brush with melted butter. Repeat until 3 rolls are made, keeping the remaining phyllo dough covered with waxed paper and a damp towel as you work to prevent drying. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into 1-inch slices using a serrated or electric knife. Refrigerated, canned crescent rolls may be substituted for phyllo pastry sheets.

Enter the giveaway to win a free can of the spinach used in this recipe along with a pretty little printout of the recipe as well! To enter, do two things:

1. "Follow" this blog
2. Leave a comment on this entry to tell me your name and favorite appetizer!

Giveaway closes Friday at 7pm!

-Katie

*The recipe, giveaway product and accompanying photo courtesy of Allen's Vegetables via RMD advertising - many thanks to their generosity!