My friend Barb (of Barb and Justin, not Barb and Bob, or even Bob and Don) came across a thing that was, apparently, macaroni and cheese baked into a muffin cup with Sriracha. We were all intrigued, and she supposed that I could probably come up with a little sumpin’ sumpin’.
She was right, tho’ my first attempt, while not bad, and which made for a very nice picture (with buttermilk dressing), was a bit on the dry side, and I thought coulda used a might bit more Sriracha…
So, back to the drawing board!
I kept my basic premise of using Kraft Dinner as the pasta base, but switched up and cut back on the cracker crumbs, added a couple of eggs, and then, because I could, used heavy cream in place of milk.
Much more better!
But, ermmm, you could probably get away with using plain old milk.
INGREDIENTS
•1 box Kraft Dinner
•1/4 cup butter, sliced
•1/2 cup heavy cream (or milk)
•2 to 4 tbsp Sriracha (to your taste)
•2 eggs
•1/4 cup Panko crumbs
•1/4 cup crushed Ritz crackers
•Gateway to the North Maple Garlic Seasoning (or any steak or grill seasoning you prefer)
Heat your oven to 350º and apply cooking spray to a muffin tin.
Note: this recipe will make a dozen three inch muffins, or probably 24 mini muffins for a party snack.
Cook and drain the Kraft dinner according to package instructions, then return to the pan with the sliced butter, cheese sauce packet, and Sriracha. Stir until the butter has melted and combined well with the Sriracha and cheese.
Whisk the eggs together with the cream (or milk) and stir into the pasta mixture until well blended.
Add the Panko crumbs and crushed crackers and stir to combine.
Scoop the Sriracha Mac and Cheese into the prepared muffin tin – a two-tablespoon scoop worked a treat for the three inch muffin cups I was using – then season the tops with a bit of the Gateway to the North Maple Garlic Seasoning – or your preferred steak or grill seasoning – and pop into the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let them rest for five minutes, then pop out of the muffin tin – you may need the aid of a knife – and serve.
Mebbe with some of that buttermilk dressing on the side.
Nice munchie!
Creamy, decently spiced, I used two tablespoons of Sriracha for this batch, but will probably bump it up to three or four for the next; and I am most definitely gonna dig out my 24-count mini muffin tin for the next batch.
Note: I’ll do a Parfait! Post when I try these using a mini muffin tin, but you want to watch your cooking times if you beat me to the punch.
Hmmm, I do have a chili throwdown coming up…
I guess I’ll be needing some more Kraft dinner.