Yummy Pasta Muffins

 P.S. I wrote this post a week ago and forgot to put it up! :) So when I say "today" I actually meant "last week"!

Its a public holiday here today and so the start of a very long weekend for us as both my husband and I don't work Friday's. That means lots of cooking today. I try and get all my cooking at the start of the weekend so that I can enjoy the rest of the days without having to stress out about cooking for the kids and us after a long day out. Here's a sneak peak into what's's cooking in our kitchen today :)

Pasta Muffin

Chocolate cake

Meatballs

Lemon Pickle

Mix for Fried Rice

As you can see from the picture, I've been extremely busy! Let me know if you'd like the recipes for any of the above and I'll put them up.

Now, since I can't have sugar, I'm on the lookout for interesting savory recipes for Kochu so that I don't get tempted to cheat. There are just so many great food blogs out there with so many wonderful recipes. I must take this opportunity to say that I'm no good at inventing recipes on my own. I've had my moments when inspiration's hit me but a majority of recipes for Kochu are borrowed from these other food blogs and then adapted to Kochu's liking.

On such a hunt for a recipe, I came across these delicious looking Pasta Muffins at Raks Kitchen. Her blog is purely vegetarian and has awesome recipes for parathas and the like. I followed her recipe to the letter and only thing I changed was adding some meat into my version.
These taste best when served warm. You can make a batch and store in the fridge for up to a week. Just heat in the microwave for 20 - 30 seconds and then serve.

Pasta Muffins

Ingredients:
Small macaroni pasta - 1/2 cup
Minced Meat - 200 gms
Grated mozzarella - 1/4 – 1/2 cup
Grated Parmesan - 2 tblsp
Bread crumbs-1/4 cup
Olive oil
Chopped vegetables as needed for topping. I used capsicum and red onion.
Salt
Italian herbs - 1 tsp (optional)

Method:
1. Cook pasta shells with salt. I cooked the pasta a bit more than just al-dente as baking it later will make it a bit tough.

2. Drain and keep aside. After cooled down, mix with grated mozzarella.

3. Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Generously grease your muffin pan with olive oil or butter.

 Dust it with bread crumbs and  tap off the excess crumbs. Keep aside.

4. In another pan, heat some oil. Add the diced onion, capsicum, salt to taste and saute. Once the onion and capsicum are soft add in the minced meat and stir until brown and cooked through. You can add in some Italian herbs to season the meat if you like. 

5.  Fill  the muffin pan with the pasta & cheese mix. Then add in the meat and vegetables mix. Top it off with some Parmesan cheese. Then sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over every muffin and drizzle some olive oil over it.

6. Bake until golden . Let it cool for a few minutes and spoon out each one carefully. Yummy treat all ready to be devoured!