Mac n veggie cup cakes

   
I was babysitting my friend's 4 year old daughter yesterday. My 18 month old son and she had a fantastic time playing big sister and naughty brother. After a full day of play, in the evening i wanted to give them something special to snack on.  When i asked her , she replied "Aunty, can i have "macramoni"? Not a typo, she did ask for Macramoni!!!

When my son used to rule the world of picky eaters, I had a tough time experimenting with the very few ingredients he would atleast look at!! My main idea was to combine everything that pleased him, make it a paste and fight the battle to push the food into his mouth! Luckily he had a good eye on mac n cheese. So I had a thought to combine two of my son’s favorite foods- mac and carrots. He loved it so much. So today i wanted to add in some fun to it. Hence, I came up with this mac and veggie cup cakes.

You need:
    •    1 cup small elbow macaroni
    •    Salt to taste
    •    Grated/thinly sliced veggies (Carrots, beans)
    •    4 tbsp Breadcrumbs
    •    1 cup milk
    •    2 cups water
    •    2 tablespoons butter
    •    2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

    1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the cupcake foils and butter the insides.
    2.    Melt 1 tbsp butter and mix in the bread crumbs.
    3.    Bring a  pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.. until it is cooked. Drain and keep aside.
    4.    Melt 1 tbsp butter and saute the grated veggies.
    5.    Pour the milk and stir constantly till the milk thickens.
    6.    Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese until melted. Now the cheese sauce is ready.
    7.    Add macaroni to this and mix well. fill in the cup cake foils with this mix. Top with remaining cheese and buttered bread crumbs.
    8.    Bake until the top is golden.

Isn't it funny to see him digging the cups!!!