Five weeks until Christmas and who is counting?
Christmas is one of my favourite holidays and I am thrilled to see the beautiful Christmas window displays are already underway in the city. This year I will be having a friend staying with us over Christmas. Regardless if I am cooking for two or three or more, I love a Christmas spread that will fill up my 6 seaters boat wood dining table! Perhaps it is a tad too excessive for three people? Well, it fits with my tendency to over feed people, that’s for sure ha!
When it comes to the preparation of finger food during the holiday season, it’s handy to have a couple of easy recipes up our sleeves no?
These baked mac ‘n’ cheese bites are slightly different to the classic mac ‘n’ cheese. Not only they make an ideal finger food (because they are still delicious at room temperature), I love that there’s is no need to make cheese sauce. All you have to do is to cook the macaroni, drained the water and mix the rest of the ingredients with the pasta. Oh yes, it is THAT simple!
Did I mention that they are very tasty and addictive too? Despite the idea behind individually sized mac ‘n’ cheese supposed to help with portion control but, it is MAC ‘N’ CHEESE we are talking about here, who am I kidding right?
A marriage between tasty cheese and Philadelphia cream cheese will give you Grated Philly & Tasty which I have used to make these mac ‘n’ cheese bites. What makes these grated cheese special is the combination of the sharp cheddar and the creaminess of Philly cream cheese which is good for making baked pasta dishes such as this one.
Ingredients
- Cooking oil
- 2 cups macaroni
- 25g butter
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 200g Grated Philly & Tasty
- 1 cup milk
- A pinch of grated nutmeg
- A handful of panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Pour a bit of cooking oil onto a kitchen towel and use it to grease a muffin tin. Set aside.
- Cook macaroni in a saucepan according to packet instructions. Drain the macaroni and return them to the saucepan. Add butter to the macaroni and toss to combine.
- Then add beaten egg and toss to combine.
- Add 150g of grated cheese (leave 50g behind for toppings later), nutmeg and milk and mix all the ingredients until well combined.
- Spoon the macaroni mixture into the muffin pan. Top with panko breadcrumbs and remaining cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- After finish baking, allow the macaroni bites to cool in the muffin pan for 3 to 4 minutes before transferring to a serving plate.
- Serve with marinara or tomato sauce.
Notes
A recipe tweaked from www.allrecipes.com
Hi can you tell me if you can cook these mac and cheese bites a few days before and freeze them ? Thanks.
Such an awesome idea! Would be perfect for picnics.
Thank you for this easy recipe… I added some carrots.. Made a great snack for my husband and son on way home from airport…. They were hungry when they got off the plane….