Skip to main content

Spanakopita Meatballs and Homemade Tzatziki Recipe

Sometimes when you combine favorite things, it just works. I give you the wonderful combination of Spanakopita and Meatballs! These were a fan favorite last night, great for making ahead, and freeze well.



Meatballs
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic (or two cloves, minced)
1 lb. ground turkey (you can also use ground chicken or beef, if you prefer)
3 eggs
1 lb. frozen spinach, all water pressed out
1 c crumbled feta
1 tsp. Montreal or steak seasoning
2 T olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Saute onion for 3-4 minutes in 1 tsp. olive oil, remove from heat, and place in mixing bowl. Add garlic and toss together.

Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach. Add to onion mixture and separate the spinach as you mix. Add in raw ground turkey, steak seasoning, olive oil, eggs, salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients well with a wooden spoon, breaking up the meat or spinach as needed, and well-incorporating the eggs.

Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray. Roll meatballs into 1 1/2" balls and place on cookie sheets. Yields about 36 meatballs. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until meat is cooked through (juices will run clear). Freeze cooled meatballs for future re-heating (quick meals/snacks!)


Tzatziki Sauce
1 individual size (1 c) plain Greek yogurt
1 T dried dill
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and grated
1/2 tsp. cumin

After you peel, seed, and grate the cucumber, press out the extra liquid. The combine the cucumber pulp with all other ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.


I served the meatballs over buttered noodles and topped with a generous dollop of the tzatziki sauce. You can also use the sauce to dip the meatballs as an appetizer or snack.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce 

Raise your hand if you LOVE washing dishes? Yes? Then this recipe isn't for you. Because dinner is done in one pot. Set it and forget it while you change into something more comfortable after a long day. Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 onion, diced 2 c broth or water 3 c (24 ounces) pasta sauce (marinara or tomato sauce recommended) 1 lb. any pasta (I used whole wheat high protein spaghetti) 2 T Italian Seasoning 1 t Onion Powder 1 t Garlic Powder 1/2 t salt 1/4 t black pepper Instructions: Set your pot to "Saute" and cook the ground beef, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the onion to the ground beef and they will cook together. Once it is cooked through (about 4-5 min), do not drain out the fat. **If you prefer to use frozen meatballs, skip the above steps, start with the meatballs in the bottom of your pot, then go from here:  Mix in all seasoning (Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper) Layer in

Current Faves

Here are just a few things I'm currently loving this summer: All the new layouts for Shutterfly photo books . After YEARS of saying I'd get around to scrapbooking photos from last year, and the year before, and the year before, I finally caught site of one of my good friend's adorable little girls gracing the cover of one of these photo books at her home. That was it -- it was decided I would finally get around to creating my own albums. So far I have created albums for 2007, 2008, 2009, our wedding, and our honeymoon. More to come!   If you haven't previously seen pics on the blog of our pup, Flaps, you don't know what kind of cuteness you are missing. He's a Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier we rescued last Fall when he was only 10 weeks old. My pup-based obsession right now -- these great, fluffy dog beds from L.L.Bean.  I haven't braved the recent Maxi Dress trend, but I picked up this black Maxi Skirt from Old Navy and have been wearing

DIY Burlap Placemats

BLOG UPDATE! These placemats are now available on my Etsy store TheSundayPaperie Customize with any words you'd like! I saw this picture on Pinterest, courtesy of the design blog, Cottage and Vine , and fell in love with the simplicity and quirkiness of these placemats. The original poster advises some basic burlap and just using a Sharpie for the lettering. A great afternoon DIY project.  I set out to make 6 to use on my kitchen table when it's fully set. Now, for what the write? Here were a few options: 6 synonyms for 'eat': eat, nourish, chow, bite, dine, devour 6 ways to say 'eat' in various languages: eat (English), φάω (Greek), comer (Spanish), manger (French), essen (German), jeść (Polish) Or I was thinking to just write out the works one through six. After a little survey of friends online, the concesus was to write it out in various languages. So here is how it went down: I wanted each placemat to be 14" x 20", so I p