Grammies Swiss Chard and Feta Snacks

Mamma Flava mentioned Amy's Snacks -feta and spinach. Small finger sized little packets of dough filled with a variety of things. I purchased a couple of boxes since MF asked me to figure out what the outside was made of and see if we could make our own. The Amy's Snacks were OK, not a lot of filling and covered with a short crust (a crust which does not contain any leavening so it does not puff up. usually made with half fat to flour ratio and used for pies and tartes.)

I pulled out my pie dough recipe and made a double batch of dough. I made Buffalo Sauce and Cheese Snacks and Swiss Chard and Feta Snacks; now baked and frozen ready for Baby Flava's next visit. That is if we can keep our hands off them...they are scrumptious. And the best part....for the cost of the chard and cheese....I made almost 70 snacks. Much better, cheaper and tastier than Amy's.

One hint: make them round into dumpling shapes instead of square like Amy's, its much easier.

Pie Crust
(makes a single pie crust for a double crust pie, double the am ounts)
1 cup organic unbleached all purpose flour (you may use 1/2 whole wheat)
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
8 T unsalted butter (I used smart balance)
2 T ice water and more as needed (I use 2 T of cold vodka to start-see below for why)

Mix flour, sugar and salt. Cut butter into cubes and add to flour mixture. You place this in your mixer or food processor. Mix/pulse the mixture until the butter and flour are incorporated and look like sesame seeds. I will sometimes finish the process by hand to get a better feel for the dough. Do this quickly so the fat does not melt.

Add 2 T of ice water and m ix. Then continue adding by the teaspoon until the mixture is moist and starts to clump together. Gather into a disc and either use immediately or refrigerate.

Roll your dough on a floured board until very thin. So thin that you can almost see the board through the dough. Cut out 3" circles Fill with a teaspoon of spinach and feta, swiss chard and feta (see recipe below), meatsauce and cheese...etc.. Fold in half over the filling and pinch edges well. You may place a bit of water around half the dough edges to ensure they stay sealed. Place on parchment or lightly sprayed sheet pan and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes until golden. They puff up slightly (even though a short crust...if make right it puffs as in flaky!). Serve to kids or adults. These may be frozen and reheated for a short amount of time (3-5 minutes in the oven or 1 minute in the microwave). Perfect finger food.

Grammies Swiss Chard and Feta Snack Filling

1 bunch of Swiss Chard (red or green)
1/2 cup Feta Cheese
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Cut main rib and stalk out of each leaf. Cut each leaf in half and then in 4-5 pieces. Place in bowl of water and let sit about 5 minutes swishing every once and a while. Drain, rinse and spin dry. Place a teaspoon of water in a saute pan on medium heat. Add the clean swiss chard and cover. Let steam from water left on leaves until the leaves wilt.
Cool and chop. Chop the 1/2 cup of feta and add to swiss chard. Mix and use for filling.

This also make a fantastic filling for an omelete...as we found for breakfast this morning!!

You may cook most greens this simply except the tougher collards which need a longer time to soften.