Season 11 is flying by on American Idol and we’re already down to 70 hopefuls. Tonight they’re headed to Vegas for some sin city fun and of course the drama that only Idol can provide. So for tonight’s recipe I thought I would follow some inspiration from a few of my favorite Vegas chefs.

All season long I’ll be dishing out themed recipes for Lyndsey Parker’s (Yahoo! Music) Reality Rocks blog! This recipe actually serves 8 tarts but in a moment of brilliance I pulled the hot pan out of the oven with a damp towel (yes I’m a genius) and instantly dropped the entire tray of tarts. Thankfully there was only one casualty and a few burned fingers! Try it out (the recipe…not my kitchen fail) they taste like mini veggie pot pies.

Read my feature on Reality Rocks HERE!

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″ dice
• 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. Saute the onions and bell pepper until softened.

Add the asparagus and saute 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.

Ingredients for the Béchamel 

To make the béchamel reduce the heat to medium. In the same pan melt the butter.

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 2 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!