Baked Cheese Bites

Last night for dinner I made southwest chili lime meatballs (ground pork seasoned with Stubb's Chili Lime Rub and baked on 425* for about 20-25min until they're golden brown how I like them). I decided that a good side for them would be the baked cheese bites that I found on Pinterest, so I tried out that recipe. Anyone who has ever cooked will tell you that sometimes things that seem soooo simple can turn out soooo wrong. Yes, they were edible and still delicious but they were more crispy cheese puddle than cheese balls. I followed the advice from the blog this recipe is from and froze the cheese before I dipped it. When I make this again (I want to keep trying this one until I get it right) I think I will use panko crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs because they have a lot more crunch to them. I am also going to freeze them after they're dipped since they do warm up some in the dipping process. Hopefully those two changes help them to crunch up before they melt down. I couldn't find fat free cheese at Walmart like the original recipe used and this might also have affected their meltiness.

Baked Cheese Bites

Pack of lowfat string cheese sticks

Bread Crumbs

Milk

1. Cut the cheese sticks into bite sized pieces and place into the freezer. Opening the cheese stick packs was tons of fun for my two kids so take the help if you can get it.

2. Preheat the oven to 425*. Once the cheese sticks are firm to the touch (mine were in the freezer about 30 minutes while I put away groceries) take them out and add a little milk so you can coat all the pieces.  Then roll them in the bread crumbs.

3. Place onto a pre-greased cookie sheet and bake on 425* for 6-7min until they are golden brown. Serve with marinara or your favorite dipping sauce.