Little comfort cups

I get A LOT of magazines, and I am constantly ripping out recipes.  Currently I have about 6 large binders filled with recipes to try.  I don't think I'll live long enough to cook half of them!  But I can't stop myself from ripping out more recipes every day.

I'm drawn to comfort foods, but I try to put a healthier spin on them...so when I found a recipe for mini spaghetti carbonara cups in the mountain of recipes I was finally filing away, I decided to ditch the clean-up effort and get cookin'.  (Doesn't take much to divert my attention.)
Pretty easy to make this a little healthier... switch out the usual  "enriched" white pasta for whole wheat (if they'd just leave the flippin' whole grain alone, they don't need to "enrich" it.) , replace the bacon/pancetta with roasted crimini mushrooms, use olive oil instead of the bacon fat to coat the pasta, trade half & half for heavy cream, and add herbs and spices.  Easy.

And here's how pretty they are.....



But pretty isn't everything; let's talk yum-factor.  I ate them for lunch AND dinner, and not cuz I was lazy (this time), but because they are just that good!  I had some of my homemade marinara sauce left over from a cooking class earlier in the week, so for dinner I gave them a sweet dousing of that...who knew it could get even better (well, I guess I did).  I couldn't even wait to take a picture before taking a big ol' bite out of one.

Spaghetti Carbonara Cups
Serves 6

1/4 cup olive oil, divided plus 1 tablespoon for crimini mushrooms
8 ounces crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti
3/4 cup parmesano-reggiano, divided
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup half & half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Put mushrooms in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and paprika.  Make sure all mushrooms are coated, adding a little more olive oil if necessary.  Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake 20-35 minutes(depending on thickness) until crispy.  Remove from oven and chop.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350.
• With a brush, lightly coat a 12 cup muffin tin with olive oil.  Should use about 1 tablespoon.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (be generous with the salt, the water "should taste like the sea" as my friend Denis taught me"),  Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.
• Add 1/2 cup cheese, oregano, basil, crushed red pepper and remaining olive oil, tossing to coat the pasta.
• In a bowl, beat the eggs and whisk in the half & half, salt and  pepper.
• Fill individual muffin tins loosely with pasta, spoon a tablespoon or so of egg mixture on top (use all the liquid).
• Top with chopped mushrooms and remaining parmesan.
• Bake 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and crispy.
• Let stand 5 minutes (if you can stand it!).
• Eat as is or top with your favorite pasta sauce.

Best of all, you probably have all the ingredients in your fridge and pantry already...so get on it.