Spanikopita Cups

I bag on Rachael Ray for being so perky and having such goofy buzz words. But I have to give the woman credit for coming up with great, simple recipes. I found the original recipe in Everyday with Rachel Ray (a subscription is my paper anniversary gift from Hubs) and I’ve adapted it to be easier to work from and to have, in my opinion, a bit more flavor.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

1 small onion, choped
1 clove garlic, chopped
dash of thyme
dash of basil
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 10oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed (you can use whole leaf, just chop it up after thawing) and squeezed dry
1/2 cup goat cheese
1 thawed puff pastry sheet
1 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter
1 mini muffin pan

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan. Saute the chopped onion in extra-virgin olive oil until soft (about 5 minutes). Add thyme and basil and mix thoroughly. Add garlic and and chopped spinach. Cook the mixture until spinach is warmed through (about 2 minutes).

Put spinach mixture into food processor and blend until mixture resembles a chunky paste. Turn into a bowl and mix in cheese. Let the mixture cool slightly.

Meanwhile, cut twelve rounds from 1 thawed puff pastry sheet; prick each with a fork. Press the rounds into a mini-muffin pan, then fill with the spinach mixture. Bake in a 375 degree oven until
golden, about 20 minutes.

These got a thumbs up from Hubs. The only thing I don’t like about this recipe, is that I felt like I had dirtied every dish in the house. I’d like to find some ways to streamline the process a bit.