Mac & Cheese Mini Pies

Yesterday I prepared food for about 30 people (with tons of help from my sister) for my best friend Joy's baby shower. It was the perfect opportunity to try new recipes and this one was a hit! She loves mac n cheese so I wanted to do something bite-sized that didn't require a fork. Next time, I'm going to try to do this in a casserole as baked mac & cheese...this seems to be the perfect recipe!

Ingredients:

1 sleeve crushed Ritz crackers

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 eggs

8 oz. elbow macaroni pasta

4 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons cold butter

5 oz. spreadable garlic and herb cheese (found in cold dairy cheese aisle-I used Rondele brand)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine 1 cup shredded cheese (use a mixture of both kinds of cheese), melted butter, and ritz crackers. Place in bottom of each muffin cup to form a crust.

3. In another bowl combine the hot cooked pasta, cold butter, milk, eggs, 3/4 cup shredded cheese, spreadable cheese, sour cream, and red pepper flakes.

4. Spoon mixture into each muffin cup and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

5. Bake 15-20 min. and serve immediately!

Adapted from: Epicurious-The Deen Brothers

Lemon Balsamic Chicken Pasta

I promise to give credit where credit is due and this recipe originated from a recipe on the box of Publix brand pasta. It pays off to buy Publix brand sometimes! I've made lots of changes from the original recipe and this was one of my favorites to cook with one of my old roomies, Ashley. I wish I could see this girlay again to cook with her but she is off to Cali! Can you tell I'm proud? Also, just to warn you: I love garlic so feel free to cut back a bit if you don't/substitute for other seasonings!

Ingredients:

1 Box Pasta (I used Penne Rigate, but any type will do)

Chicken breast

Garlic Powder

Garlic Salt

1/2 fresh lemon

1/4 cup Balsamic Glaze (I used Gia Russa brand)

1 box frozen chopped spinich

1 cup white wine

1 cup flour in a Ziploc bag

Olive Oil & Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into small strip pieces and place in ziploc bag of flour. Shake bag to coat chicken in flour.

2. Bring pasta to boil and cook according to instructions on box (drain, etc.), as you begin to cook the chicken. Also, place spinach in the microwave to thaw stirring every 2 minutes.

3. Spray pan with cooking spray and add chicken on medium heat. Cook a few minutes until chicken is browned.

4. Once chicken is cooked, pour 1 cup white wine into pan and let simmer for 8 minutes.

5. Squeeze 1/2 fresh lemon over chicken and drizzle with Balsamic Glaze, flip chicken and repeat.

6. Once spinach is completely thawed, drain water from spinach and mix with pasta. Add garlic powder, garlic salt, olive oil, and any other seasonings that you would like. I also added a lemon garlic finishing butter this time!

7. Top with completed lemon balsamic chicken & serve.

I suggest enjoying with a glass of Chardonnay!

I'm going to try to keep the recipes coming...but I can only cook so fast and tonight is Gordita night (from a box...but it is so delicious) so I won't be sharing anymore for at least a day or two. 

Thanks for reading & let me know if you try it out!