Spanakopita made easy, or not, whichever you prefer

First of all, spanakopita is a Greek spinach pie/casserole. When St. George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Springfield has its festival, "Glendi" (Greek for "party"), Chris and I line up for the spanakopita and other awesome Greek goodies.  That is one long line, and one worth waiting in. 

To have the best shot at reproducing the cathedral's wonderful spanakopita and all the extravagant glendi goodies, I splurged on the cathedral's cookbook. Tonight was not the night to make the authentic, involved, version, so I make the Spanakopita with Bisquick from the next page. I have included both recipes, and have made both successfully. 

SPANAKOPITA (the authentic/involved version)

3  10-oz. Packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed

4 medium onions, chopped

6 whole green onions, chopped. 

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

1/4 cup fresh dill, minced (optional)

1 tsp cream of wheat (I skip this)

5 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup farmers' cheese

1 lb. phyllo pastry sheets

1 to 1 1/4 lbs. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Drain spinach thoroughly in colander, squeezing out excess moisture. In large skillet, saute onions in olive oil over medium heat until tender, stirring constantly. Set aside. In a large bowl, place spinach, seasonings, herbs, and sauteed onions. Mix well. Add eggs and cheeses and stir to blend all ingredients well. Butter bottom of a 14"x11" pan. Line buttered pan with 8 phyllo sheets, buttering each sheet, making sure to overlap and drap up the sides of the pan, trimming excess phyllo. Spread prepared spinach mixture evenly over phyllo sheets. Top with another 8 sheets, buttering each sheet. Trim phyllo sheets used for top to be the same size as the pan. Finally, sprinkle a few drops of water over top sheet to keep phyllo from curling during baking. To make squares for serving, score through top 8  phyllo sheets with a sharp knife, making 5 equal rows lengthwise and approximately 8 equal rows widthwise. Bake spanakopita for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown. 

SPANAKOPITA WITH BISQUICK 

(or, in our case, we use Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking & Pancake Mix)

6 eggs, divided

1 1/4 cups milk

2 cups Bisquick mix

1 Tablespoon oil

2 10-oz. packages frozen spinach, thawed

2 bunches of scallions, chopped

3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 cup grated cheese (we used mozzarella)

Squeeze dry the thawed spinach. Mix together 2 eggs, milk, Bisquick, and oil to make a batter. Pour half  the batter into a 9"x13" pan. Make sure batter is close to edge of pan. Saute spinach and scallions in a little oil. Add 4 well-beaten eggs, feta, and grated cheese. Carefully spoon spinach mixture over batter in pan. Top with remaining batter. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 325F and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Notes: Since the block of feta was only 8 oz. not 12 oz., I used the whole 2-cup bag of shredded mozzarella, which made the dish more to Chris' tastes.