Muffin pan/cupcake recipes of all kinds

I just had to save these recipes for fun treats you can make in a muffin/cupcake tin:

Some great ideas: use a strip of bacon as a cupcake liner and fill with omelette mixture.  Lightly cook the bacon first, bake for approx 10 minutes at 190 degrees.

Mini Frittata Cups with Mascarpone and Prosciutto Recipe

• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• a pinch of pepper
• 3-4 slices prosciutto, cut into strips
• 1/4 cup grated or shredded cheese (fontina, Parmesan, mozzarella)
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 6 muffin cups (I used my 12-cup muffin tin) with a non-stick spray or olive oil, set aside.

To a bowl, add eggs, mascarpone, salt and pepper. Whisk until mascarpone has no more lumps and mixture is smooth. Mix in cheese, prosciutto and parsley.

Add egg mixture to 6 muffin cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until tops are puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately or cooled. Leftovers can be stored up to a week in the fridge and reheated.

Mini macaroni and cheese; muffin chocolate chip lava cookies

'Smores in muffin tins: 

• 2 cups freshly ground graham cracker crumbs (don’t buy the premade crumbs from the store)
• 3/4 cups butter, melted
• 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 
  
• Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine crumbs, butter and sugar in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Set aside.
3. Drop a generous amount of the crumb mixture in to the bottom of a prepared and greased muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and fill each tin with the marshmallows and chocolate chips. Sprinkle tops with remaining crumb mixture.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 additional minutes. Cool completely before removing from muffin tin.

Mini oreo cheesecakes

INGREDIENTS:

12 Oreo Cookies
1-8oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup store bought caramel sauce {use your favorite brand}

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Place one oreo cookie in the bottom of each tin and set aside.
In a large bowl, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in egg and vanilla. Scrape sides and whip again until there are no lumps. Spoon cheesecake batter over oreos evenly. Depending on how deep your muffin tins are, you should get anywhere from 9-12 individual cheesecakes. Top with pecans and mini chocolate chips. Bake 15 minutes or until completely set. Bring to room temperature. Remove paper liners carefully and refrigerate until cold. To serve, place on serving platter and top with caramel sauce.

Cannelloni? Those large pasta tubey things filled with sauce...

I subscribe to a couple of blogs: She cooks and Can't Cook a Lick. Both about cooking. Both fun. I was reminded of a recipe I've long wanted to try. But haven't. It's quite complicated. But here it is anyway: thank you, LeAnn! I'll tag this entry with 'things to try'. Watch this space...

Cheese Filled Manicotti with Meat Sauce

Sauce:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• onion, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• 2, 26 oz jars marinara sauce (no sugar in the ingredients)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• dash or two of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Filling:

• 2 lb container ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded 5 or 6 cheese Italian blend (whichever your grocery store stocks)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove as much liquid as possible
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• dash nutmeg

To assemble and serve:

• 8 oz package manicotti noodles
• 2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
• Grated Parmesan
• Fresh torn basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Prepare sauce:

Brown ground beef in a dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Add garlic, salt and pepper. If using onion, add at this point. Stir in red pepper flakes, marinara sauce, dried basil, cinnamon and sugar. Reduce heat until sauce is softly simmering.

Prepare manicotti shells as directed on the package. Be careful not to overcook. Drain and set aside. (Prepare the filling while the pasta cooks.)

Prepare the filling:

Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well.

To assemble:

Spoon about 2 cups of the sauce into the bottom of the prepared pan. Fill the cooked manicotti shells with the ricotta mixture using a pastry bag, a small spoon or your hands (I use my hands… it’s just easier.) If a shell splits while you are filling it don’t worry about it. You can place it seam side down in the pan and no one will notice 

As you fill each shell, lay them over the sauce in your prepared pan. Once all have been filled, top them with more sauce. You want to pour the sauce down the center of the shells, leaving the ends exposed so they will get a little crispy as they bake. And… because it just looks prettier and that’s important too.

Sprinkle the two cups of shredded cheese over the sauce. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and the cheese is starting to brown a bit.

Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

To serve, place one or two (most people will go for two) filled manicotti shells on dinner plate. Spoon a little extra sauce over the manicotti. Sprinkle with additional grated Parmesan cheese and fresh torn basil leaves.

I'm already wondering about using fresh lasagne and simply rolling it up around the filling...or tortillas...or making a pasta layer dish...or...