Phyllophilia, OR, How to Decimate a Box of Phyllo in Two Days

So no, I'm still not losing any weight despite Turbo Kick, Jillian Michaels, and Wogging; yes, I have fallen back into the evil dessert pit, and I am no doubt sabotaging myself through sweet calories that love me far too much; and yes, I will soon be creating a new challenge for myself because that seems to be the only way I can be reasonable. But, because I suspect you don't want to read about my baby weight struggles ALL the time, I'm going to address something much more fun in this post: Food. Specifically, food made with delicious, naughty phyllo dough.

I love to cook and bake, and in general (or so I am told) good stuff results. My main problem is that I can be terribly non-adventurous...I tend to get a recipe down pat, then throw it into a fairly limited rotation. Between Mario and I, one of us has class every weeknight, so that's a lot of "quick meals." My usual suspects are turkey or fish tacos, turkey kielbasa with veggies and couscous, turkey burgers, grilled chicken or fish, things like that. When I have a little more time, there is homemade chicken soup, coconut curry, chicken pot pie (Mario's favorite!), or perhaps turkey or veggie lasagna--and I just mastered seafood lasagna with white sauce. Actually, as my husband would attest, I have a kind of dangerous skill with white sauces. Creamy tomato with basil and pinenuts, creamy pesto, and pepperjack chicken pasta are among my naughty specialties.

Anyway, lately I've been a bit bored with my rotation and have vowed to be a bit more adventurous, and to keep better track of the recipes that work. First up on my list of things to try was Spanakopita. I love Greek food (Mario and I got a little too used to the real thing when we were doing our TEFL certificates on Crete) but Reno has a serious dearth. I am pretty much incapable of following a recipe exactly, so here is the Spanakopita recipe I patched together from various sources, and loved:

Spanakopita Crystal's Way

Ingredients
•14 ounce pkg frozen, chopped spinach
•6 oz package feta cheese
•4 large eggs
•1 bunch green onions
•¾ cup cottage cheese
•½ box of phyllo dough
•1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, or maybe a little more
•Dashes of nutmeg and salt

Directions
1.Heat oven to 375. Have phyllo out of the fridge, still packaged, coming to room temperature.
2.Thaw spinach and squeeze dry.
3.Chop green onions finely. Melt a bit of butter in a frying pan, and fry them up with spinach until they are well mixed, just a few minutes.
4.In a large bowl mix feta cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, and nutmeg and salt until well blended.
5.Add in spinach/green onion mix.
6.Melt the remaining butter in a cup.
7.Line the bottom of pan of greased 9x13 inch pan with a sheet of phyllo. Using a basting brush (rubber works well), brush the sheet lightly with butter. Repeat until you have 5 or 6 layers of dough. (Note: Keep the roll of phyllo sheets covered as much as you can while you work, as it dries out fast. You can drape a damp paper towel over it, but be warned that too much moisture can make it gooey.)
8.Spread the spinach mixture, evenly covering the dough.
9.Cover with a layer of phyllo; brush lightly with butter. Repeat with about 6 more sheets.
10.Butter the top sheet generously. Using the basting brush, go around the edges and smooth them with butter, tucking them down.
11.Score the top lightly where you plan to make cuts.
12.Place in preheated oven and bake 30-40 minutes, or until dark golden brown.

Notes:
Delicious! However, after making this I would say more spinach could definitely be thrown in for good results. Many other recipes call for more eggs than four; four worked perfectly here but if you add more spinach, another egg or so might be a good addition.

Hmmm....a box of phyllo comes with two rolls, and I used about 3/4 of one roll with this recipe. I still had some to use up so it didn't go to waste. So last night, I had my sister over for dinner and utilized THIS delicious recipe. You'll notice some similar techniques with treatment of the phyllo:

Broccoli Chicken in Phyllo, Crystal’s Way

Ingredients:
•1/2 cup or so melted butter
•12 sheets phyllo dough
•2 breasts chicken, diced in small cubes, lightly salted and peppered
•1/2 package turkey bacon, diced small
•2 crowns or so fresh broccoli, cut in small pieces, steamed gently
•1 cup grated cheddar cheese
•1 cup grated jack cheese
•5 eggs
•1 cup heavy whipping cream
•1/2 cup milk
•1 teaspoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions
1.Heat oven to 375. Have phyllo out of the fridge, still packaged, coming to room temperature.
2.In a frying pan, brown chicken together with bacon in a bit of butter
3.Mix in steamed broccoli. When it cools a bit, toss in both kinds of cheese as well.
4.In a large bowl mix eggs, cream, milk, salt, and pepper until blended.
5.Melt the remaining butter in a cup.
6.Line the bottom of pan of greased 9x13 inch pan with a sheet of phyllo. Using a basting brush (rubber works well), brush the sheet lightly with butter. Repeat until you have 5 or 6 layers of dough.
7.Pour in chicken/bacon/broccoli/cheese mix, spread evenly.
8.Pour cream mixture evenly over the top.
9.Cover with a layer of phyllo; brush lightly with butter. Repeat with about 6 more sheets.
10.Butter the top sheet generously. Using the basting brush, go around the edges and smooth them with butter, tucking them down.
11.Score the top lightly where you plan to make cuts.
12.Place in preheated oven and bake 30-40 minutes, or until dark golden brown.

Mmmm....good! But, still about 2/3 a role of phyllo remaining. Might as well use it up with a dessert recipe. I adapted this recipe from Athens Foods in the following way:

Banana Chocolate Phyllo Packets

Ingredients:
3 bananas, sliced up
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons Kahlua
12 sheets phyllo
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions
1.Heat oven to 350. Have phyllo out of the fridge, still packaged, coming to room temperature.
2.In medium bowl, combine bananas, chocolate chips, Kahlua and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
3.In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sugar.
4.Melt the butter in a cup.
5.Grease a 9x13 cookie sheet.
6.Take a sheet of phyllo. Brush ½ with butter and fold in half. Plop 1/6th of the banana mixture in the middle, and fold gently into a square packet. Brush phyllo with butter as you fold. Wrap packet in one more sheet of phyllo. Avoid breakage by working carefully and keeping phyllo you’re using buttered, and that you’re not using covered. This not easy, so likely your first couple will look a bit funky. That’s fine—they will still taste good.
7.Brush the top of packet with butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
8.Repeat 5 times for a total of 6 packets.
9.Place in preheated oven and bake 15 or so minutes, until they look delicious.
10.Serve with a bit of vanilla ice cream! Yum.


And there you have it. Phyllo gone, tummies (a little too) full, all happy. Diet tomorrow!