Mmmm, I gorged myself on these during dinner tonight but I’m hungry all over again just looking at the pictures.

This entire week I’ve been cooking our dinners out of a muffin tin. Yep, you heard me, a muffin tin.

A few weeks ago I was sent a cookbook to review that has nothing but muffin tin meals & I’ve been making my way through the recipes all week. (Full review next week, I still have a few more to try before my final verdict!) I so loved the idea of making these little individual mini meals that tonight I thought I’d experiment by making my own recipe.

The idea is you create the mixtures on the stovetop and then heap a spoonful into ready made biscuit or croissant dough. Wrap the dough around the mixture & then they bake up to be these beautiful, indulgent little pastries of hidden goodness. Yum.

I made two different types, one with garlic, leeks, mushrooms & chicken. The other with peas, chicken, swiss & cream cheese. Basically a grown up & kiddie version. Also I tried both biscuit & croissant dough because I wasn’t sure which would work better. Although they were both tasty I personally prefer the croissant dough for the mere fact that the flat triangle shape wraps nicely around the mixture which results in a completely sealed pastry after baking. I love the mystery of what could be inside! (Which deems me a big geek because obviously, I’m well aware of what’s inside)For either version start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees & grease a 12 count muffin tin. Next, cut a couple of large chicken breasts into cubes, season with salt, pepper & garlic powder then sautee in a skillet with olive oil over medium high heat for 3 minutes each side. It’s ok if they’re still a smidge pink, they’ll finish in the oven. Set aside chicken to cool. Once cool chop into even smaller pieces. Next either…

{Pea, Chicken & Cheese Version} Over low heat in the skillet you just used for the chicken for heat 1 cup of frozen peas, 4 oz of cream cheese (softened & cubed) & about 2/3 cu of shredded swiss cheese. Add chicken to the mixture. Stir until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are combined. Taste & then season with additional salt & pepper to your liking. I also added a tablespoon or so of fresh thyme that I had on hand. (how amazing would crispy little bites of chopped proscuitto or bacon be too??) Turn off heat.

{Leek, Chicken, Garlic & Mushroom} Over medium heat in the skillet you just used for the chicken add 3 chopped garlic cloves to a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Let simmer for a minute or two and add 1 package of cremini mushrooms, sliced. Next add 1 large leek (rinsed & cut into 1″ pieces) adding olive oil as needed. Season well with salt, pepper & garlic powder. Once leeks & mushrooms have softened (about 5 minutes) add chicken & turn off heat.

For biscuit dough flatten one biscuit out in your hand and add two spoonfuls of the mixture to the center, wrap the dough around, pinching it sealed on the top. Place in muffin tin. For croissant dough do the same thing except there’s no need to flatten the dough, just place 2 spoonfuls in the center & wrap the pastry around, laying the corners over each other on the top.

Bake either one for 15-17 minutes. Let them cool for a minute or two & then I’ve found the best way to get those little suckers out is by sliding a fork or spoon along the side and popping it right out. Serve while hot!

Of course the beauty of this is the possibilities are endless…you could stuff taco ingredients, philly cheesesteak ingredients, a stuffed cheeseburger…I was even thinking that a stuffed Thanksgiving dinner would be fun. (Ooo, remind me of this in November, what a great idea for leftovers!) Pop a little turkey, mashed potato, cranberry & gravy in a stuffed biscuit…that my friends, sounds like a plan.

Inspired? Share the Love...

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+