Music and a Meal

Yeah, it’s back.  And this week it’s awesome!  Not that last week wasn’t, but this week is even better.  Did you guys like the recipes from last week?  I almost included a recipe for sweet tea but didn’t want the recipes to be overwhelming.

Anywhoo, on to this week.  The song?  ”You Can’t Touch This” (I think we all know who it’s by, and if you don’t, you probably won’t like the song).  The food?  Finger food!  Sorry, it was too good and I just couldn’t help myself.  Anyway, since finger food is usually just deep fried bar food, I actually kind of went with a Greek theme because there’s so much there that can be finger food.  Plus, I got all the recipes (except for the crudite and lemonade) from Cooking Light, so it’s good for you!  So, now that you’re both hungry and excited to watch “You Can’t Touch This”, here you go!

Tzatziki and Pita, Mini Spanakopitas, Veggie Crudite, & Lemonade

Ingredients for Tzatziki and Pita:

• 1  cup  grated seeded peeled cucumber
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  plain fat-free yogurt
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh mint
• 2  teaspoons  chopped fresh dill
• 2  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• Pita

Ingredients for Mini Spanakopitas:

• 1  (10-ounce) package fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1/3  cup  (about 1 1/2 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4  cup  1% low-fat cottage cheese
• 2  tablespoons  grated Parmesan cheese
• 2  teaspoons  & 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2  cups  chopped green onions
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  chopped fresh or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 2  large egg whites, lightly beaten plus 1 more large egg white
• 5  sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Ingredients for Veggie Crudite:

• 1 cucumber
• 4 carrots
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• Olives (amount and flavor of choosing)

Ingredients for Lemonade:

• Lemonade powder, or homemade lemonade

Instructions for Dinner:

1. Clean all produce, prepare and grate cucumber for tzatziki. Place grated cucumber for tzatziki on paper towels and let sit for thirty minutes.   Preheat the oven to 350.  Mix up the lemonade.
2. Peel/seed/chop/juice/separate all other ingredients as necessary.
3. Mix together all ingredients for tzatziki except pita, let sit for at least an hour before serving.
4. Chop up and arrange the crudite.
5. For Spanakopitas filling, put spinach in a large skillet over medium heat until spinach wilts.  Put spinach in a colander, pressing until barely moist.
6. Combine the spinach and cheeses in a medium bowl, set aside.
7. Heat up 2 teaspoons of olive oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the green onions and saute for two minutes until soft.  Stir the green onions, dill, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, black pepper, and 2 egg whites into the spinach and cheese mixture.
8. Combine the rest of the olive oil, salt, and egg whites in a small bowl and stir with a whisk.  Working with only 1 sheet of phyllo dough at a time, cut each sheet lengthwise into 4 strips, each 3.5 inches wide.  Lightly brush the phyllo sheet with the egg mixture (cover the mixture with the remaining phyllo dough when not in use to prevent drying).  Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the spinach mixture onto one end of each strip.  Fold one corn of the opposite end over the mixture, forming a triangle; keep folding back and forth into a triangle to the end of the strip.
9. Repeat until all of the mixture has been used.
10. Place triangles, seam sides down, on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden.
11. Cut up pita for tzatziki into triangles.  Take spanakopitas out of the oven.  Set out crudite, tzatziki, spanakopitas, and lemonade out.  And enjoy!