Spanakopita & Manitaropita

Rating:
Price: $3.99 each (12 pieces each)
Features: Crispy filo, tasty filling, surprisingly healthy
Found in: Frozen prepared foods section

Both the classic Spanakopita and the previously unknown to me Manitaropita follow the same principle: Wrap filo dough around a filling and make flaky golden-brown-and-delicious triangles that can be enjoyed as an appetizer or as the main part of a meal.

You probably know that classic Greek Spanakopita is filled with a mixture of chopped spinach and ricotta cheese. Trader Joe's Manitaropita are filled with hearty and earthy mushrooms in a white wine cream sauce. The mushroom filling is richer than the spinach, but both are quite good!

Each package comes with 12 triangles in an aluminum tray which you can pop straight in the oven from frozen and bake them until crispy. Convenient, except the two types bake at different temperatures for different lengths of time. I cheated a bit and baked them together at a middle temperature for most of the time, giving the mushroom ones a 10 minute head start.

These are surprisingly healthy! Actually, they have far less salt than most prepared foods from TJ's, and very little fat, saturated fat, or cholesterol. I was expecting a lot higher fat content given the buttery filo dough. I guess filo is less rich than puff pastry...

The only reason I didn't give them 5-stars is because the flavors are not quite where I think they could be. Maybe add some garlic to the Spanakopita and some caramelized onions to the Manitaropita? Whatever, I am being picky. Far better than frozen entrees you get at most places, both in terms of healthy eating and value. So, go get yourself some of these tasty triangles!

Mushroom Turnovers

Rating:
Price: $2.99
Features: "Sauteed mushrooms & onions in a cream cheese pastry."
Found in: Frozen appetizers

I got talked into buying these by the guy running the sample stand. They seemed ok, not a bad deal for $2.99 per box. I felt like they needed some dipping sauce to go with them though. So, when I ended up making them for "dinner" at home I used the only thing I could find for dipping: Trader Ming's Gyoza Dipping Sauce.

Upon opening the package I realized there wasn't much in there, and I felt silly heating up the oven to make only six tiny turnovers, so I just made the whole box (12, still not a lot of food). They cooked up from frozen in about 10 minutes. I think the best use for these would be to serve them as an appetizer during a cocktail party (better get 2 boxes to fill up a plate). They don't really go with anything as a side dish, and they are not substantial enough to fill you up as a quick meal.

The Gyoza dipping sauce is good, but not the best with mushroom turnovers. I bet it is really good on...hmm...pot stickers! Only problem is that the sauce has a huge amount of sodium. Almost 60% of your RDV in 2 Tbsp! Maybe the turnovers would be better accompanied by BBQ sauce, or a sour cream type dip?

The cream cheese pastry was an interesting touch. Lighter than regular pastry, but not as airy as puff pastry. Works well with the mushroom and onion filling.