BERNIE'S BITES - JALAPEñO MAC N’ CHEESE GRIDDLE CAKES

Submitted by Bernie and Chef Jenny

Ingredients

Makes approximately 20 cakes   

• 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 cup Milk (plus 3 tablespoons for pasta preparation)
• 2 eggs
• 5 shakes of Hot Sauce
• 2 Jalapeño Peppers, diced*
• 1 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 box Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese
• Butter for pan (plus 2 tablespoons for pasta preparation)

Preparation
Directions:

1. Prepare the Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese according to the directions on the box and set aside.
2. Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, onion powder, sugar, salt and pepper into a medium bowl. 
3. Whisk the milk, eggs and hot sauce together in a separate small bowl until combined.  Add to the dry ingredients along with the peppers and cheese and mix to combine.  Fold in the macaroni and cheese.
4. Preheat oven to 300 F.  Heat a small tab of butter (per batch of cakes) in a large skillet set to medium heat until melted.  Laddle 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan per cake.  Don’t overcrowd the pan with too many cakes and cook in batches. 
5. Cook the cakes until firm and golden brown on each side (about 2-3 minutes per side-should be cooked all the way through and not gooey). Keep first batches of cakes on a sheet pan in the oven to keep warm.  Enjoy!