Mmmmac n Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is by far my favorite food ever! If it wouldn't make me obese I could honestly eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love the homemade, casserole type stuff, but will never discriminate against the blue box known as Kraft. There are about 10 different recipes bookmarked in my "catalogue" of recipes and it's just a matter of time before I get through them.

So rounding out my recipes for the party were these Three-Cheese Mini Macs and they did not disappoint!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)

1 1/2 tbsp unsalted better

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 cup fat free milk

4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded (one packed cup)

4 oz deli-sliced American cheese, chopped (about 5 slices)

1 large egg yolk

1/4 tsp smoked Spanish paprika (I used regular paprika)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, shaking off the excess water.

Brush four 12-cup, nonstick mini muffin tins with butter (I actually just sprayed them with cooking spray instead, and actually used one 24-cup mini muffin tin and one 12-cup regular muffin tin and cut those in half at the end). Sprinkle with 2 tbsp of the parmesan, tap out the excess.

In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 tbsp butter. Whisk in the flour over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar and American cheeses and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in the egg and paprika. Fold in the macaroni.

Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the macaroni into the prepared muffin cups, packing them gently. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of parmesan on top. Bake in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for 5 minutes. Using a small spoon, carefully loosen the mini macs, transfer to a platter and serve.

The result... yummy! Even cold they were still good. Though I'm not a huge fan of American cheese, it's pretty hard to be unsuccessful when making any type of macaroni and cheese. These are surprisingly not that bad, since they are so small. Actually only 1 pt/bite. Just be careful because they are just that - bites! These were a huge hit too!

YUM!