Macaroni & Cheese Muffins
Why I Love This Recipe
This is a great recipe to make macaroni and cheese as an appetizer in individual muffins without frying anything. For this recipe, you will need a non-stick muffin tin.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 large egg
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup cream
1/4 tsp hot red pepper sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 lb elbow macaroni or other small tube shaped pasta
1 stick of butter
2 oz ricotta
3 cups of mixed cheese: cheddar, Monterey jack, other (grated finely)
1/4 cup onion grated
1 cup panko (to coat the muffins and for crispy topping)
Parsley (garnish)
Fresh Chives (garnish)
Bacon (garnish)
Directions
Milk Sauce:
Mix the evaporated milk, pepper sauce, 1/2 stick of butter, Worcestershire, seasoned salt, celery salt, pepper, cayenne, and mustard mixture in a small saucepan on low heat. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cheese Mixture:
In a food processor, blend egg, ricotta, 2.5 cups of cheese, and onion. (Save 1/2 cup of cheese for topping).
Place in bowl and set aside.
Pasta:
Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in large saucepan. Add pasta and cook until tender but not mushy. Drain and return to saucepan over low heat.
Add rest of the butter but save about 1 or 2 tbsp for buttering the muffin tin.
Combining all three elements:
Pour milk sauce over buttered pasta.
Add 2 cups of the processed cheese mixture; stir until thoroughly combined and the cheese starts to melt.
Gradually add cream and remaining cheese mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture is creamy.
Baking:
Coat the muffin tin slots in butter and then spread the panko over the butter.
Spoon in the mixture, top each muffin with remaining cheese, and dust it with panko.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and then broil until top is bubbly and brown.
Garnish with parsley, fresh chives, and bacon bits for more flavor.
Let cool and then remove with rubber spatula.
NOTE: You can replace the cheese with gruyere, smoked gouda, Irish cheddar, horseradish cheddar, Swiss or parmesan for more flavor but kids seem to like the basic recipe best.
