Week 14: Recipe #4--Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Spinach, and Feta in Phyllo Cups

This is a Rachael Ray recipe I found on the Food Network website (see link below).  I absolutely love the sun-dried tomato/feta/spinach combination (on pizza, pasta, pretty much anything), so when I saw this I knew I had to try it.  Plus, I had a bunch of phyllo dough in the freezer from a previous recipe and I didn't know what to do with it, so this recipe was just a win-win situation.  Mmmmm....and were those phyllo dough cups TASTY!  Rachael suggests serving this with a hearty vegetable and olive salad, but that sounded too fancy for me.  I served it with a green salad and fruit.  Makes 6 servings.

Photo from foodnetwork.com

You'll Need:

• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 3 sheets phyllo pastry dough, found in freezer section
• coarse salt and black pepper
• 2 Tblsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 thin cut boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into thin strips on an angle
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small yellow skinned onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained, 10 to 12 pieces, chopped
• 2 boxes chopped spinach defrosted and squeezed dry (**see note below)
• 3/4 lb., 12 oz., feta cheese, crumbled

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Brush 6 or 12 cup muffin tins with butter using pastry brush (I made 12 small, vs. 6 large).  Brush a layer of phyllo dough with butter, top with a second sheet of pastry, butter, then season the phyllo with salt and pepper and then top with a third sheet.  Cut into 6 or 12 squares and arrange the phyllo in cups, allowing the dough to crumple and spill out of the tops of the tins.  Brush the inside of the pastry cups with the remaining butter.  Bake until golden, 5 to 8 minutes (watch carefully, mine got a little dark).  Cool.
3. To a skillet preheated over medium heat add chicken, garlic, and onions and season with salt and pepper.  Saute 5 minutes, add the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach and cook another 3 to 5 minutes.  Add feta and taste to adjust seasonings.
4. To serve, place phyllo cups on a serving platter and fill with mounds of chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach mixture. 

**I found this to be a LOT of spinach.  I might reduce it to one box next time and see how that goes.  I definitely had more spinach/chicken mixture than I had cups, so I think one box would work.


Recipe link:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-feta-and-spinach-in-phyllo-cups-recipe/index.html