ham and spinach pies

I saw a recipe on Facebook today.  It was called Zucchini Onion Pie.  A friend of mine posted it.  It looked good so I clicked on it.  It called for 3 cups of zucchini.  I don't mind zucchini, but I didn't want a whole pie's worth.  Especially since I'd be the only one eating it.  Plus, I didn't have any.  So, I thought about what I have in the fridge and the freezer and wondered if I could make the basic recipe, only without the zucchini.  I found two boxes of frozen spinach.  It totaled about 3 cups so I figured it would work.  I found some scallions in the fridge, along with a small ham steak.  The recipe didn't call for it, but I figured that would make it taste better.  And I wanted to use it up.

One thing about the recipe that turned me off was the 1/2 cup of oil it calls for.  Maybe there's some reason that needs to be in there, but I'm not a professional cook so I have no idea what that reason is.  I decided to cut it down to 1/4 cup, barely.  Rightly or wrongly, I also increased the eggs to make up for the reduced oil.  It's supposed to be baked in a pie plate, but I like using my muffin tin so I can measure my portions more easily, and bag the pies and freeze them.

They came out pretty good, although there's a little too much spinach for my taste.  They're pretty dense so I'm thinking one and a half will be good for breakfast or lunch.  Most likely I'll bring them to work to share since I'm not really keen on having these everyday for the next week and a half.

If I make these again, I will reduce the spinach and likely eliminate the oil.  Eliminating the oil would save about 40 calories and 4.5g of fat.  I would probably just add some extra egg whites to make up the liquid.  The would boost the protein.

My recipe is below.  Here's the link to the original:  Zucchini Onion Pie

Ham and Spinach Pies

Yields 6 pie slices, or 12 individual pies
If using a muffin tin, each individual pie contains:  167 calories, 9g fat, 7.5g carbs, and 12.5g protein.

4 whole eggs, plus 3 egg whites
1 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 to 3 cups frozen spinach, drained (make sure to squeeze as much water as possible from the spinach)
1 cup biscuit/baking mix (I used Bob's Red Mill Low Carb baking Mix)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup scallions
1/2 cup chopped ham

In a large bowl, whisk together first 6 ingredients.  Stir in the spinach, baking mix, scallions,ham, and onion. Spray a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate or a muffin tin with cooking spray. Scoop the batter into the pan.  Bake at 350° for 25-35 minutes or until lightly browned.