Spanikopita (sorta) Meatballs and Fresh Tzatziki

Matt and I LOVE Greek food.  It has a very special place in our life and hearts, so when I saw these on a fellow bloggers website, I knew they were in our near future.  You can find the original recipe here, along with a lot of other tasty dishes.  I only altered 1 or two things; I left out the grill seasoning b/c we did not have any.  Tzatziki is an amazing Greek cucumber yogurt condiment; but we've been told by our Greek friends that us wimpy Americans must have our Tzatziki with sour cream.  Well, I wouldn't have any of that b/c I want the real deal!  And this is the real deal and it was AMAZING!  The first night we ate our meatballs and tzatziki in an Ezekial pita, but ate them without the pita the following night.  They were delicious both ways.

Spanikopita Meatballs

1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 box frozen spinach, defrosted (used Green Giant)
1 C crumbled feta (we used fat free)
1 lb. ground chicken
2 t oregano
2 t onion powder
2 t garlic powder
Sea salt and cracked black pepper season to taste
juice of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Using a kitchen towel or cheesecloth, squeeze all the liquid out of the spinach.  Place the spinach in a large mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients, and mix with your hands until well incorporated.  Roll the mixture into meatballs (I made about 30 of them, they were on the smaller side) and place on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with a little bit more olive oil and place in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, turn over and bake another 10-14 minutes or until the meatballs are golden brown and cooked. 

Tzatziki

2 C Greek yogurt (used Oikos brand)
1 large english cucumber, peeled, shredded, and drained (make certain it is dried well)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 T mint, chopped
1 T, dill chopped
1 ounce lemon juice (about one lemon)
salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the yogurt, line a strainer with a cheesecloth and set over a bowl.  Put the yogurt in the strainer, loosely covered, and let it drain overnight in the refrigerator.  Discard the liquid and use the strained yogurt as directed.

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight before serving. 

This is totally worth the work, I think.  It was so tasty and I love the traditional flavors over the Americanized version.