Blueberry-Apricot Cups

This is my own creation, of sorts.

I was searching last week for Rachael Ray's pasta recipe with the vodka-cream sauce and ran across a challenge list on her web site. She lists 10 different ingredients and challenges readers to come up with a meal or menu based on those 10 items. Readers also have free use of several things already in the pantry -- salt, pepper, sugar, etc.

Well, for some reason, a few of these ingredients caught my eye, and although I would never take the time to write it out, film it and submit it, I thought the challenge sounded sorta fun.

So, using blueberries, apricots, ricotta cheese and puff pastry (well, I cheated and used little fillo cups), I made these little dessert cups. I could have easily added a sprig of mint and would have used five ingredients on the challenge list. Here's what I did...

I sprinkled the frozen fillo cups with a dusting of cinnamon and put them in the oven for five minutes. While they were heating, I warmed 1/4 cup chopped, dried apricots on super-low heat with 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon of butter. As soon as the fruit began to soften and the sugar was completely dissolved, I removed the mixture from the heat and stirred in about 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese and a splash of vanilla. I then spooned the mixture into the little baked cups and sprinkled with a little more cinnamon.

Now, I normally like to cook with exact recipes. I'd much rather have directions that include a tablespoon of something rather than a palmful of something. But I have to say, just whipping these up to see what would happen was kinda fun!!!