Snackin’ With Sarah Sellers: Vegas Viewing Nosh

Diehard "American Idol" viewers will remember Sarah Sellers as the geek-chic food blogger who made it to Hollywood Week last year. (Watch her Season 10 audition here.) Sarah has since continued her food-blogging, and has been cooking up scrumptious snack suggestions for any "Idol" viewing party and posting them here in Reality Rocks each week.

So the auditions are at long last over, and Season 11's 70 remaining Hollywood Week semifinalists are off to Vegas tonight. So Sarah is serving a decadent dish inspired from some of her favorite Sin City chefs (Bobby Flay, Emeril, et al). Enjoy!

Mini Veggie Tarts

Ingredients

▪ 8 mini pie/tart shells, thawed if frozen
▪ 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
▪ 1 cup diced yellow onion
▪ 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
▪ 1 cup asparagus, 1" diced
▪ 1 (8oz) container baby bella mushrooms, sliced
▪ 1 tsp dried thyme
▪ salt & pepper
▪ 1 cup milk, warmed
▪ 2 tbsp butter
▪ 2 tbsp flour
▪ 1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saué the onions and bell pepper until softened. Add the asparagus and sauté for 2-3 minutes, add the mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms are soft and the liquid is evaporated. Remove from the pan and set aside.

To make the béchamel, reduce the heat to medium. In the same pan, melt the butter then slowly add the flour, constantly stirring with a whisk. Once the butter and flour are combined, slowly add the warm milk, stirring constantly so no lumps occur. Reduce the heat to medium-low and season with the salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Stir until well-combined.

Stir the veggies into the sauce. Scoop around two tablespoons of the mixture into the mini tart shells, being careful not to overfill. Bake in the oven until the tarts are nice and golden-brown.

Bon appetit!

Check out Sarah's food and music blogs at http://sarahsmusicalkitchen.com

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Related links:

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