Cheese puffs

This recipe calls for pot cheese which is basically cottage cheese that has been drained longer and therefore has a slightly drier texture. If pot cheese is not available where you live, use cottage cheese but let it drain in a sieve for approximately half an hour before you use it. Also, this is a very time consuming recipe so don’t start it until you have plenty of time!

What you’ll need:

• 1 lb Feta cheese
• 1 (12 oz) pkg pot cheese
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 c parsley or dill, finely chopped
• 1/2 lb real butter OR 1/4 lb real butter + 1/4 lb margarine
• 1 lb Phylo pastry sheets

Crumble Feta into small pieces into a large bowl. Add pot cheese and blend well. Add the eggs and beat thoroughly. Mix in the herbs. Set aside. Carefully cut the Phylo pastry into three equal portions. Put two of the portions (covered) into the refrigerator until ready to use. Place a damp towel over the portion you are working with. Phylo dough dries out very quickly and you don’t want it dry. You are going to work with one sheet at a time.

Remove one sheet of dough, place on a flat surface and butter well using a pastry brush. Fold the long side towards the middle making a strip about 2″ wide. Butter again. Place 1 Tbl of the cheese mixture on the bottom right hand corner of the strip and fold over into a triangle shape. Keep folding and making triangles until you get to the end of the strip. Lightly butter the finished triangle and place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Continue this process until all the dough/cheese has been used. This should make 75 pieces.

Bake @ 425 degrees for 20 minutes, turning once. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Cost:
Feta cheese – $4.79/lb
cottage cheese – $2.86
eggs (18 count) -$1.47
herbs – $1.20 in store/free from herb garden
butter – $2.38
Phylo dough – $3.89
Total – $14.28/$0.19 per piece