Mac & Cheese "Muffins"
Lately I've been finding a lot of winners over on Babble. This one is no exception. It's a fun spin on Mac & Cheese and I even got away with hiding an ingredient in there. My family never noticed (please don't tell them!). Kelly ate 3 of them, too. Hee, hee.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. macaroni
Salt
3-4 Tbsp. butter
3-4 Tbsp. flour
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups grated old cheddar cheese, or any combination of cheeses you have in the fridge
1/2-1 cup pureed cooked cauliflower, sweet potatoes or squash or 2 jars pureed baby food
Bread Crumb Topping (optional):
1-2 slices bread (preferably whole wheat), torn into pieces
2 Tbsp. canola or olive oil or melted butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Directions:
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it’s tender but not mushy. Drain well in a colander and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In the empty pot (no need to wash it out), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir well with a whisk, cooking for a minute or so until the mixture starts to turn golden. Stir in the milk and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. The sauce must reach a full boil in order for the flour to reach its full thickening potential. Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes, until the mixture is nice and thick.
Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheese until it melts. Stir in the vegetable puree, if you’re using it. Add salt to taste, then stir in the drained pasta. If you want a bread crumb topping, pulse the bread, butter and Parmesan in a food processor until the bread turns to crumbs and the mixture is well blended.
Divide the macaroni and cheese into buttered muffin tins and top with the bread crumbs or additional cheese. (It can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated in the baking dish; sprinkle with the crumb mixture or cheese right before you bake it.) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the topping is golden and the “muffins” are bubbly around the edges. Serves 8 – more if there are kids.
Notes: I chose to try the bread crumb topping and used 2 slices of bread and 4 Tbsp. of butter. Four Tbsp. butter was way too much. My crumb topping came out of the food processor mushy and never crusted up like I would have liked. Use less butter or more bread to get a better consistancy.
BIG NOTE: It never mentioned this in the recipe so I'm mentioning it here. I removed some of the "muffins" from the muffin tin while they were still extremely hot and they did not hold their shape. You need to wait anywhere from 5-10 minutes before removing them. The ones we removed later held their shape perfectly. Of course, you don't want to serve them cold either so use your own judgment.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. macaroni
Salt
3-4 Tbsp. butter
3-4 Tbsp. flour
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups grated old cheddar cheese, or any combination of cheeses you have in the fridge
1/2-1 cup pureed cooked cauliflower, sweet potatoes or squash or 2 jars pureed baby food
Bread Crumb Topping (optional):
1-2 slices bread (preferably whole wheat), torn into pieces
2 Tbsp. canola or olive oil or melted butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Directions:
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it’s tender but not mushy. Drain well in a colander and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In the empty pot (no need to wash it out), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir well with a whisk, cooking for a minute or so until the mixture starts to turn golden. Stir in the milk and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. The sauce must reach a full boil in order for the flour to reach its full thickening potential. Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes, until the mixture is nice and thick.
Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheese until it melts. Stir in the vegetable puree, if you’re using it. Add salt to taste, then stir in the drained pasta. If you want a bread crumb topping, pulse the bread, butter and Parmesan in a food processor until the bread turns to crumbs and the mixture is well blended.
Divide the macaroni and cheese into buttered muffin tins and top with the bread crumbs or additional cheese. (It can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated in the baking dish; sprinkle with the crumb mixture or cheese right before you bake it.) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the topping is golden and the “muffins” are bubbly around the edges. Serves 8 – more if there are kids.
Notes: I chose to try the bread crumb topping and used 2 slices of bread and 4 Tbsp. of butter. Four Tbsp. butter was way too much. My crumb topping came out of the food processor mushy and never crusted up like I would have liked. Use less butter or more bread to get a better consistancy.
BIG NOTE: It never mentioned this in the recipe so I'm mentioning it here. I removed some of the "muffins" from the muffin tin while they were still extremely hot and they did not hold their shape. You need to wait anywhere from 5-10 minutes before removing them. The ones we removed later held their shape perfectly. Of course, you don't want to serve them cold either so use your own judgment.
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