RECIPE: Spinach Balls

Last night was our meeting of The Dam Book Group. Our book was The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Some of us loved it, others found it depressing (which it is, but still a great read!).  Nothing like discussing the Chicago slaughterhouses in the early 1900's to get you in the mood for snacks and wine. Stomach-turning topic, but that didn't stop us. Trust me.

My contribution was Spinach Balls. I found the base recipe online, but after reading the reviews I made a number of adjustments. They turned out really, really delicious. I say they'd make a great Super Bowl snack!

Recipe: Spinach Balls

Ingredients
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 (10 oz) packages of frozen spinach – thawed and squeezed dry
1 (6 oz) package of stuffing mix
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Optional: marinara sauce and/or ranch dressing for dipping

Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚. Saute the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent and slightly browned. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sauteed onions and garlic as well as the all the other ingredients except the 1 cup of shredded Parmesan. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Dump the 1 cup of shredded Parmesan into a shallow bowl. By hand, roll the mixture into 1-1/2" balls, then roll each ball in the shredded Parmesan. Place the balls on the cookie sheet (Don't worry about placing them far apart, pack the suckers on there. As long as they're not touching, they'll be fine.) Bake for 30 minutes. This recipe makes quite a few, you could easily freeze half of the balls and use them another time.