Bacon Mac and Cheese Bites

I’m obsessed with mini-things. And there’s many THINGS I’m obsessed with too… but here, I’m talking about PASTA. Bite-size

PASTA.

With cheese.

AND bacon.

So this story is actually a little funny.

Our neighborhood was planning the semi-annual block party, and I waited until the last minute to decide I’d go. I knew I wanted an excuse to go all out with a little potluck dish.

I’ve been seeing all of the trending ‘muffin-tin’ recipes going around. Food Network Magazine even had the 50 best muffin tin recipes in one of their recent mags.

I have a few muffin tins, but hardly ever use them for anything … except muffins (and even those are a rare occurrence around here.)

I wanted to make something everyone would love though… and something easy to eat.

So I decided to make a giant batch of the best mac and cheese. And then scoop it out into some filo dough, add more cheese and a crunchy topping, then BAKE it. And then ADD BACON.

And then scoop it out into some filo dough and BAKE it.

My favorite mac and cheese is always baked. I think it’s because that’s the way my grandmother makes it, and it’s one of my original ‘favorite foods’.

So I scooped a spoonful of the mac and cheese into the squares of the filo dough and then added a nice panko-Parmesan topping and some cooked, crumbled bacon and called it a day. These would be a hit, right?!?

Well, I made a tester batch the night before the party, photo’d them for the blog, and ate a few, and died of happiness.

Yes, I had a HUGE pot of the rest of the mac and cheese in the fridge for spooning out and cooking the next day. Then, Rocky and I decided to go to a movie… since he sleeps a little late (it’s the summer afterall). We got home and I literally had like 40 minutes until the party. These bites weren’t gonna happen. And I was pretty sad about it. I thought that I planned well by cooking the pasta the night before, but I just couldn’t make myself make these things and be rushed, etc.

So really, I was the only one who got to experience the joy of these amazing bites… maybe next time I’ll plan better. Maybe not. But these will be made AGAIN, and will be enjoyed by more than just ME! :)

I ended up making some super-quick, super-easy cookies from a puff pastry, and I’ll share that recipe soon, but for now… maybe you’ll have better planning and make these for a fun little potluck! (…or just for yourself, I won’t judge!)