Ali Cooks: Roasted Vegetable & Tuna Macaroni & Cheese Cups

One of my favorite foodie topics to gab about is FoodGawker.com.  Seriously, I can spend hours on that website (but don't worry, I do limit myself).  It's to the point where I have set the following criteria for myself:

 

~I can only scroll through the first page of the 'latest' postings.

 

~I can only scroll on that first page when I don't recognize the postings (meaning that I must regularly visit the website so that I know when there are new postings!).

 

But let me slow down a bit and explain what FoodGawker is all about.  It's basically a spot where all levels of food photographers can post their pictures.  Typically, the posters have food blogs and typically, the postings are accompanied by a recipe.  The catch?  You have to CLICK on the photo in order to actually see the recipe.  So you 'gawk' in a way at alllll of these photos to determine which one(s) you further pursue.  It's how I find most of my recipes to cook/bake/adapt.  And of course it's where today's recipe comes from, too!

 

So yes, under my 'Favorites' on FoodGawker, one could find "Roasted Vegetable Macaroni & Cheese Cups" listed under my 'FODMAPS' category.  (FODMAPS is the special diet I loosely follow.  More on that in another post.)  So after I cooked the yummy recipe with my own twist on it, I moved it from 'FODMAPS' to 'Cooked.'  It's the method to my madness, haha.

 

Oh look, here's what I cooked after it was...cooked (technically baked, I suppose...).

 

 

And now:  To the recipe!

 

Roasted Vegetable & Tuna Macaroni & Cheese Cups

 *Adapted from TheComfortofCooking.com

 

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

1 cup dried bread crumbs (I used half panko, half gluten-free)

12 ounces small pasta, such as shells or elbows (I used spirals--don't use spirals)

2 cup grated cheddar cheese (or more!)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 sprigs of thyme

small handful of parsley, chopped

chives (amount as desired), chopped

1 extra large can of tuna (in water)

quartered cherry tomatoes (optional)

broccolini (optional)

 

Instructions:

 

First, blanch your broccolini by bringing  a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the broccolini and cook for 1-2 minutes. Strain the stalks and immediately plunge into a bowl of iced water.  Feel free to let them sit for a bit, but eventually drain them and set aside (I put them back in the fridge to keep them crisp.)

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.  Coat inside of each muffin cup with bread crumbs, reserving any excess.  (There may be quite a bit--this is ok.)

 

Next, prep your vegetables and grate your cheese if you haven't already done so.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat (I used the same pot as the one for blanching the broccolini).  Add the pasta and cook for the length of time described on the package/box.  Drain the pasta, add back to the pot, and stir in the cheddar cheese, the tuna, and the herbs/green onions, chopping up the tuna a bit, if necessary. Season with the salt and the pepper, to taste. 


 

 

Spoon the pasta mixture into the muffin cups, filling almost to the top and pressing gently to set.  I had quite a bit leftover and was able to half fill a sprayed loaf pan with the pasta mixture, as well.  Top each cup with tomato and broccoli (or omit if desired). Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs evenly among the tops of the cups/pan.

 

 

Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Make use of a knife/fork to pull them from the muffin cups and don't worry if they don't quite keep their shape--they'll still taste delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 And there you have it!  The veggie-free version on the right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the veggie-ful version on the left.

 

Ya know, something else I'd like to add to my blog is a section for 'Tweaks.'  Modifications I'd make to a recipe/culinary experience if I were to do it again.  Let's see...

 

 

Tweaks:

 

~Use shells or elbow noodles instead of noodles.

 

~Maybe use real butter or more heavily grease the pans to ensure more bread crumbs stick to the cups.

 

~MORE CHEESE.  I eye-balled the 2 cups of cheese, and I think I would even increase it to 2 1/2 cups next time...

 

~I'd pre-chop some of the tuna, since it was more difficult to evenly distribute it among the cups with it being in big chunks.

 

Hopefully that will be somewhat helpful and will stand as some good considerations for you in your cooking ventures with this recipe (and with future recipes that I share with 'Tweaks.'

 

 

 

Now:  Let me encourage you to dig in and get even more creative than I did with your usual macaroni and cheese routine.  Whether it's a bit healthier or a bit more decadent, make it fun and enjoy every bite!

 

Until our next cooking/baking venture--Ta ta for now!