Mini Mac And Cheese Food

MAC AND CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Grease a nonstick mini muffin pan very well with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, then cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package says. My elbow macaroni said to cook for 7 minutes, so I drained it after 5.
• After you've cooked and drained the pasta, return the empty pasta pot to the heat and turn the heat down to medium. Melt the butter and add the paprika. Add the flour and stir the mixture around for 2 minutes. While whisking, add the milk. The mixture will be very thick, but that's intentional. Just make sure you have stirred out any lumps. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cheeses and drained pasta, stirring it all together until the cheese and sauce are well distributed.
• Portion your mac and cheese into the muffin cups, either with a spoon or a 3-tbsp cookie scoop. Pack the mac and cheese into the muffin cups with your fingers really well. If you don't pack the mac and cheese down, they won't hold their shape when you take them out after baking, and you don't want them to fall apart.
• Bake the mac and cheese cups for 15 minutes, until bubbling and gooey. Remove them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes, then carefully run a plastic knife or toothpick (assuming you need to not destroy the nonstick coating on your pan) around the edges to loosen. Remove the mac and cheese cups from the pan and garnish with chopped chives or scallion greens. Enjoy!

MINI MAC & CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain., Meanwhile, sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs into 36 greased mini-muffin cups. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese until melted., Remove from heat; stir in biscuit mix, eggs and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Add macaroni; toss to coat. Spoon about 2 tablespoons macaroni mixture into prepared mini-muffin cups; sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and bread crumbs., Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pans 5 minutes before serving.

DELUXE MINI MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Cook Macaroni in large saucepan as directed on package; drain. Do not return macaroni to pan.
• Melt butter in same saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook and stir 1 min. Gradually stir in milk; cook 1 to 2 min. or until thickened, stirring frequently. Add Cheese Sauce; cook and stir on low heat 1 to 2 min. or until blended. Remove from heat.
• Add macaroni, egg, sour cream and 3/4 cup shredded cheese; mix well. Spoon into 12 muffin pan cups sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
• Bake 13 to 15 min. or until golden brown. Cool 5 min. before removing from pan to serve.

MAC AND CHEESE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the panko mix: Mix the panko, Parmesan, olive oil and garlic together and set aside.
• For the mac and cheese: Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
• In the meantime, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens. Reduce the heat to low and add the Worcestershire and salt to taste. Slowly fold in the Gruyere, Cheddar and goat cheese and heat through until all the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Fold the cooked macaroni into the cheese mixture.
• Spray mini-muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the panko mix. Put the muffin pans in the oven and bake until the panko is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove the pans and lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. Carefully fill the cups the rest of the way with the mac and cheese, packing tightly. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the tops with the panko mix and continue baking until the tops are golden brown, about 5 minutes more.
• Let the muffins cool before removing them from the pan. Repeat with the remaining macaroni and cheese and panko mixture.

MINI MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 dozen (1/2 cup) ramekins or a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish.
• Cook the elbow macaroni in a large pot of salted boiling water over medium heat for about 6 minutes or until very al dente. Drain and return to the pot.
• While the macaroni is cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove 1/2 of the melted butter and reserve it for the topping. Add the flour to the saucepan and cook whisking constantly. When the flour is golden brown slowly whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened. Stir in the mustard, fontina, Gruyere, and Cheddar cheeses until just melted. Stir into the cooked pasta, coating it completely, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Divide the mixture between the buttered ramekins.
• In a medium bowl combine the panko with the grated Asiago and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the reserved melted butter and mix to combine.
• Top each ramekin with the bread crumb mixture. Bake in the oven until golden brown on top and the cheese is bubbling, about 15 to 20 minutes. Top with fresh chopped parsley before serving.

MINI MACARONI PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 8 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan.
• In a bowl, combine the crackers, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, and the melted butter. Divide the mixture among the prepared muffin cups and press firmly in the bottom and up the sides of the cups.
• In a large bowl, mix the macaroni with 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sour cream, cold butter pieces, and salt. Stir the milk mixture into the macaroni.
• Spoon 2 tablespoons of the macaroni mixture into each cracker crust and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and slightly crispy. Allow the pies to cool slightly before unmolding and serving warm.

MINI MAC & CHEESE MEATBALL CUPS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Prepare Dinner as directed on package, using the Light Prep directions. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup mozzarella; stir until melted. Stir in egg.
• Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. Parmesan into each of 12 muffin pan cups sprayed with cooking spray. Fill with Dinner mixture; press 1 meatball into Dinner mixture in each cup.
• Bake 15 min. or until meatballs are heated through (165ºF). Top with remaining mozzarella; bake 3 min. or until melted. Let stand 5 min. Meanwhile, heat pasta sauce.
• Serve mac and cheese cups topped with sauce.