Sometimes, you just don't want to bother with pots and pans.
Sometimes, you want small portions, like tapas. Sometimes, you just want a change.
It is for all of these times that muffin tins were made. Sure, you can use them to make muffins or cupcakes or, best of all, Yorkshire pudding. But an actual trend these days is to use them to make dinner or party appetizers.
I set out to explore the limits of muffin tinning by making four radically different types of entrees. One is a breakfast, because breakfast is the most important meal of the day and also because breakfasts are fun to make. If the breakfasts can be eaten with your fingers, so much the better.
One of the dishes I made is a muffin-tin version of macaroni and cheese, because, frankly, it's macaroni and cheese. No further explanation is needed, right? Another dish just uses the muffin tin to make exceptionally clever buns for muffin-size sliders.
And one violates my own principle against using prepared doughs (such as puff pastry or biscuit dough) in the muffin tin because I simply couldn't resist the concept: miniature chicken pot pies with store-bought crescent-roll dough as the crust.
The Chicken Pot Pie Cups, as they are called, do take some work. If you are tempted to believe that meals — or appetizers — cooked in muffin tins are easier to make or less time-consuming than their full-size siblings, you would be mistaken. To make Chicken Pot Pie Cups, you begin by making chicken pot pie.
That means a fair amount of chopping and dicing, and the making of a roux. And because I did not have any cooked chicken on hand, I also had to cook some chicken.
The only part that is simpler than regular chicken pot pie is the use of refrigerated crescent-roll dough in place of homemade puff pastry. If you use store-bought puff pastry, then there is little difference at all — at least in the process of making it.
The real difference is in the eating. These little two-or-three-bite-size cups are delightful simply by virtue of being small and portable. They are like ordinary chicken pot pies, but more fun.
Fun is key to enjoying Mac and Cheese Cups, too. This dish also requires doing it the hard way by making your own macaroni and cheese, but it is a simple, pared-down version.
No Worcestershire sauce, no ground mustard, no eggs. This mac and cheese is just the basics: butter, flour (OK, you do make a roux), milk, cheese and macaroni.
Once you make it, you bake it -- in a muffin tin, of course. The point is to get the macaroni and cheese to set, so you can eat it with your fingers. You get all the wonderful flavor of mac and cheese, without any of the cheese goo.
Next up were Ramen Sliders, which are only partially made in muffin tins.
The slider part is especially creative: You mix ground beef with the seasoning packet from a package of beef or pork ramen and chopped green onions. You divide and cook it as tiny patties and top each with a slice of hard-cooked egg, a squirt of Sriracha and, if you're adventurous that way, a piece of kimchi.
So where does the muffin tin come in? They're how you make the bun. Only it isn't a bun, it's the cooked noodles from that package of ramen. Placed in the bottom of muffin tins and baked, the noodles become crisp and crunchy.
To be honest, the ramen buns are not the best-tasting thing in the world. They are not bad by any means, but the sliders might be better if they were served on actual buns.
The ramen buns are more of a novelty, a conversation starter. Still, I'm glad I made them. Once.
I saved breakfast for last, Hash Brown Cups. These are just what they sound like, shredded potatoes cooked inside a muffin tin and then filled with scrambled eggs.
The potatoes are baked, not fried, so you might think they would be relatively healthful. Alas, something is needed to hold the potatoes together, a glue of sorts, and that glue is four tablespoons of butter. That works out to a teaspoon of butter in each cup that is eaten in one, or no more than two, bites. No wonder they taste so good.
Chicken Pot Pie Cups
2 tablespoons butter
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 ribs celery, diced
½ large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
⅔ cup chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream
2 cups diced cooked chicken
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup frozen corn
2 tubes crescent roll dough
Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease 2 (12-cup) muffin tins with nonstick spray (or you can make them in batches).
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add carrots, celery, onion and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, 3 minutes, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth and cream, and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in chicken, peas and corn, and simmer until warmed through. Remove from heat and set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, unroll crescent-roll dough and pinch diagonal seams together. Cut each tube's worth of dough into 12 squares, and place squares in muffin tin slots, on the bottom and up the sides of each cup. Spoon heaping spoonfuls of chicken mixture into each crescent cup. Bake until the crescent is golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly in muffin tin before serving.
Makes 24 mini pot pies.
Recipe adapted from Delish
Nutrition information: Each pot pie contains approximately 104 calories, 6 g protein, 5 g fat, 10 g carbohydrate and 270 mg sodium.
Mac and Cheese Cups
1 ½ cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 12 liners in a muffin tin or tins, and coat them with nonstick spray.
Cook the macaroni according to package directions; drain.
Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk; bring to a boil. Add cheddar cheese, stirring until melted. Stir in the macaroni; season with salt and pepper. Divide among the muffin cups, sprinkle with Parmesan and bake until golden, 15 minutes.
Makes 12 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 171 calories, 8 g protein, 9 g fat, 13 g carbohydrate and 241 mg sodium.
Ramen Sliders
2 (3-ounce) packages beef or pork ramen noodles
1 pound ground beef
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 hard-cooked eggs
Sriracha, to taste
Kimchi, optional
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 24 muffin cups (you can do this in batches). Cook noodles according to package directions, saving 1 seasoning packet for meat mixture (reserve or discard remaining seasoning packet). Drain; divide noodles among prepared muffin cups. Bake until crisp and light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.
Meanwhile, combine beef, green onions and the 1 reserved seasoning packet, mixing thoroughly. Shape into 12 (2 ½-inch) patties. Tip: Roll the meat out between 2 large sheets of waxed paper, remove the top sheet and use a 2 ½-inch cookie cutter to make the right sized patties.
Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat until they are as done as you like. Cut each egg into 6 slices. Serve burgers on ramen buns topped with egg slices, Sriracha and, if desired, kimchi.
Makes 12 sliders.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Nutrition information: Each slider contains approximately 304 calories, 13 g protein, 10 g fat, 9 g carbohydrate and 304 mg sodium.
Hash Brown Cups
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, shredded
4 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Ground black pepper
4 eggs, scrambled and cooked to your liking
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil 12 muffin cups. In a bowl, mix together shredded potatoes, melted butter and salt, and season with pepper. Press mixture into a cup shape in the muffin tins. Bake until browned and crisp to your liking, 20 to 45 minutes. Fill with scrambled eggs, and serve.
Makes 12 servings.
Recipe adapted from Food Network
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 88 calories, 4 g protein, 6 g fat, 7 g carbohydrate and 173 mg sodium.
Food on 01/30/2019