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Caramelized Onion Tartlets
by Melanie Foster
serves: 12
  You can call these Bacon Tarts for those wary of onions :) They are great made ahead and frozen. You can also use the pastry for any number of fillings, sweet or savory, large or small.
Ingredients:
  1/2 cup   butter, room temp.
  6 oz   light cream cheese, room temp.
  1 1/2 cups   flour
  8   bacon slices
  1 tbsp   olive oil
  2 cups   chopped onion
  1 tsp   salt
  2   garlic cloves
  1/2   red bell pepper, chopped
  1 tsp   dried thyme
  1 tsp   dried rosemary, crushed
  1/4 tsp   black pepper
  2 tbsp   white balsamic vinegar
  1 cup   swiss or other shredded cheese
Directions:
  For the Cream Cheese Pastry:
Mix the butter and cream cheese together until blended and smooth. Use a pastry blender or fork to work the flour in until the mixture is crumbly. On a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper, dump the mixture out and form into a disc. Wrap well and chill about 30 minutes while you make the filling.

For the Filling and assembly:
Preheat oven to 425. Place bacon strips onto a foil lined sheet pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes until browned and cooked, it will crisp up more as it cools. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add onions and salt. Cook 20 minutes or until onions begin to wilt and become golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, bell pepper, thyme, rosemary, pepper and vinegar and stir, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook 10 more minutes. Taste for seasoning. Remove skillet from heat. Add bacon and stir to mix. Set aside to cool while you form the tart shells. Roll the chilled dough into pieces about the size of a walnut and place one in each well of a mini-muffin pan. Using a tamper or your fingers, press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of each well. Mix the cheese into the cooled filling. Spoon some filling into each tart or use a small scooper and press it in a bit. Bake 12-15 minutes or till golden brown. Remove tarts to a rack and let cool. Serve at room temperature. You may refrigerate or freeze the baked tarts and thaw in the fridge. Heat them covered in an oven or microwave covered with a damp paper towel to take the chill off of thawed tarts. Makes 24 tartlets.