Sunday, February 1, 2009

Super Bowl Snack: The Battle Between Good and Evil


Spinach-Bacon Bites
(Or as I like to call them: The Battle Between Good and Evil)

Hors D'Oevres aren't generally considered to be healthy. Sure, you can try to convince yourself that those Ranch Dressing-covered sticks of celery and carrot are part of your daily requirement of vegetables, but we know the truth. The fact is, party food is supposed to be bad for you. That's part of the fun! The recipe below is an attempt to assuage the guilt of gorging with wild abandon. Is it healthy? No. But, it IS 75% spinach, and that has to count for SOMETHING, right?

1 medium red onion, chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt, pepper, seasonings (it's up to you!)
2 cups frozen, chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed of juice)
1 cup Panko (Japanese white breadcrumbs, you can find them by the soy sauce)
1 cup crumbled cheese (bleu, feta, ...something STRONG)
1 package thinly cut bacon, pieces cut in half crosswise

Sautee onion until it begins to brown at the edges, about ten minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
Mix eggs, seasonings and spinach in a large bowl. Add Panko, and combine. If the mixture doesn't begin to ball up (almost like dough), add more Panko until it does.
Roll mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls. Stuff each ball with a bit of cheese, and wrap with 1/2 slice of bacon.
Heat a large skillet to medium-high. Place as many bacon-spinach balls as you can, without squishing them, into the pan. Make sure the bacon 'seam' is touching the bottom of the pan. The heat will 'seal' them.
Cook for about 5-7 minutes. Turn once, cook for another 5-7 minutes. Remove to a serving tray and garnish with additional sprinkles of cheese. Kid yourself you're eating something wholesome.
* Photo note: I'll post the photo after I've cooked them!

1 comment:

Abby said...

Sinful. Sounds wonderful!