Spanakopita

I've made what the husband calls "Dirty Span" many times. It's been fairly good before, but not great. Too much egg and cheese, not enough egg and cheese, problems with the phyllo making it tough to cut and eat, or not enough salt. This time I think I got it down. The filling is moist and full of fresh spinach and salty feta. The phyllo is light and crunchy, and cutting everything to pieces before baking made a big difference. Next time I want to make the dirty span', this is it.

Ingredients:

• A ton of spinach, chopped into small pieces, and cooked in the microwave until wilted (don't overcook!)
• One bunch of green onions, sliced, and cooked with the spinach
  
• Feta - 4 cubic inches - crumbled
• 8 oz cream cheese (neufchatel)
• Phyllo dough - thawed
• Salt (1/4-1/2 t), pepper (freshly ground, 1/4 t?), oregano (1/2 t), dill (1/4-1/2 t) (alter as you like. Don't put too much dill or it will probably taste weird.
  
• 1 t minced garlic
  
• 3 eggs
• olive oil
  

Thaw the phyllo dough. Allow time for this, and don't try to rush it too much!

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mix the cheeses, eggs and spices in stand mixer. Add this to the cooked spinach and green onions once they've cooled a bit. Brush oil on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan (or thereabouts - a tall-sided large cookie sheet would work as well). Layer in some phyllo dough, with oil brushed on between every few layers. Spread the spinach mixture onto the phyllo, and spread til even. Add more layers of phyllo, brushing with oil as before. Cut into serving pieces (squares, triangles) before baking, making sure to get all the way to the bottom.

Bake about 45-60 minutes. Done when the crust is browned lightly, and the filling is not too wet (basically, make sure the eggs are done). Slightly easier to serve once it has cooled a bit.

Preparation time - about 30 minutes? Baking time around 60 minutes. Altogether, not a weeknight meal, but good when there's time to wait for things to bake. Also, the filling could probably be prepared in advance a day or two, and baked early on the day of an event, just warmed in the oven.