Family Classics: Spinach Balls

Fuzzy green ball found here

I remember when I was a kid, sometimes my mom would host parties.  They would be office parties for my dad, or Super Bowl parties, or whatever.

My favorite part of mom's party prep was the appetizers she made.  My two all time favorites were spinach balls and sausage balls.

Spinach balls has become my go-to holiday dish to bring to family gatherings, and is now a favorite of my husband's family too!

So, I thought, what the heck!  I'll try it out on my kids.

Here's the recipe:

Clarke Family Spinach Balls

2 boxes chopped spinach (10oz frozen package)
     Cook spinach then drain and squeeze out moisture (Very important!  Squeeze all the moisture out!)
In a large bowl, combine spinach with following ingredients: (you will need to get your handy dirty, the best way to mix is my hand.)

1 package,16oz, Pepperidge Farm Stuffing mix (crumbly, not cubed!)
1 large, finely diced onion...(I should mention, I hate chopping onions.  It is my least favorite cooking prep activity.  If you are ever at my house for dinner, and you ask, "Is there anything I can do?", don't be surprised if I hand you an onion and a knife!)
6 eggs, well beaten
3/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup parmesean
1 tbsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp thyme

Shape into balls (size of golf ball) and place on greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 for 16-20 mins.
Spinach balls should be warm an firm to the touch.

Recipe makes approx. 5-6 dozen spinach balls.

By the way, as much as I love spinach balls, the ball rolling step is time consuming.  All together from frozen spinach to warm balls, it took just over an hour.

And the verdict:

Three very enthusiastic thumbs up from husband and the bigs, and two "no way, yech" thumbs down from the littles.

Another lesson learned...I served the spinach balls as a side with this pasta I picked up at Cost Plus World Market:

I thought it looked fun and interesting.  Silly me.  I should know that my children (especially my persnickety four year old!) do not see "fun" and "interesting", they see "new", "different", and "gross!"