Mama Mia, Ole!

Mexican Stuffed Shells.  

Its like the Midwestern attempt at Fusion Cuisine, because its basically Chicken Enchiladas in pasta shells rather than tortillas.  

And, boy-oh-boy, is it tasty!

Yes, that's 3 blocks of cream cheese.

Now the recipe does make 2 (9x13) pans worth, however I used Neufchatel cheese instead; 1/3 less fat and when there's so much of it, I don't notice a difference.

  

I've been experimenting with substituting it in cooking recipes, but when it comes to baking, it may be more noticeable.  The biggest thing for me is texture, and that's what I like about Neufchatel cheese, is that it has the same texture as cream cheese in cooking, so far, when many low-fat dairy products are runnier/thinner and have an added zing! of flavor to distract you from the lack of creaminess.

So, Neufchatel. I said it again.

Salt water and bring to a boil in a large pot.

Meanwhile, feed the hungry baby, if applicable.  Until he looks like this!

Boil shells until just al dente, according to instructions on the box.

Drain and forget about them for awhile.

Chop 1/2 of 3 different colored peppers, 6 green onions and chicken. 

Yeah, that's obnoxious, but the different colors look pretty--so really, whatever amount of whatever peppers you want.

Combine in bowl with cumin and black beans.

In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, chicken broth and canned tomatoes with chiles and stir until well-blended. 

(I used 2 cans diced tomatos and 1 can green chiles).

In retrospect I would say to do this in a saucepan on the stove or microwave-safe bowl, because you really have to heat the cream cheese to get it to combine with the tomatoes and not be just little chunks.

Still some chunks of cream cheese, but good enough.

Add chicken mixture to cream cheese mixture.

Spread 1/3 c salsa into bottom of each pan.

Stuff shells with chicken mixture and place in pan.  

There will be leftover filling, so stuff generously.

Now for the finishing touches...

If your cheese has been compromised by a family  member, trim the offending piece and shred the rest.

Pour remaining 1/3 c or so of salsa over the shells.

Top with cheese.

Bake one and freeze the other. [unless your crowd is really hungry]

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 min, until hot and bubbly.
If cooking from frozen, thaw in fridge 24 hrs and probably bake covered for 1 hr or so, until hot and bubbly.

Dig in!

This dish is fantastic, like a dairy explosion in your mouth! I bet you could reduce from 3 to 2 blocks of cream cheese and not even notice the difference.

One thing that stood out was that the peppers were still pretty crunchy, which Brett prefers, so good for our household, but its not what one would expect from a "casserole".  I think you could bake it for an hour and take care of that, or sautee the peppers and onions prior, just to soften, then that could give it a seared flavor.  Like eating fajita veggies, in which case I would change the name to Chicken Fajita Stuffed Shells.


Mexican Chicken Stuffed Shells
by Glenda Emree

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken breast, cooked and chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 green onions, diced
• 1/2 each of red, green, yellow, & orange bell peppers (or 2 whole bell peppers of your choice), diced
• 3 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened (not melted)
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles (don’t drain) (Rotel or store brand, either works)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of picante sauce
• 38 large pasta shells, cooked al dente

Instructions

1. Cook pasta shells in well salted, boiling water until al dente (still have a little bite to them) If you cook them too long, they will be difficult to stuff, plus they will have additional cooking time, once they are stuffed. Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the filling.
2. Cook, drain and dice enough chicken breast to make 4 cups. I always have homemade chicken stock and pre-cooked diced chicken bagged in my freezer. You could use canned chicken broth if you prefer.
3. To make the filling, mix diced chicken, drained black beans, green onions, diced peppers, and cumin in a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, chicken stock and undrained tomatoes with chiles. When thoroughly combined, pour it over the chicken mixture and mix well. (If you have trouble incorporating the cream cheese and tomatoes, you can heat it slightly in the microwave.)
5. Spread 3/4 c. picante sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan. (I used 13x18x2, but I’m guessing that two 9×13′s would also work.) Reserve the final 1/4 cup, for later.
6. Using a spoon, or your fingers, fill each of your cooked and cooled pasta shells, setting them into the picante covered pan. Continue until all shells are filled and arranged in the pan.
7. When the pan is full, drizzle the shells with the remaining 1/4 cup of picante and then sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.
8. Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

What's Orange and Stick-y?

Carrots! ...until you puree them into a soup

Now with my husband working from home, we've been eating lunch together everyday.  At first I felt compelled to cook or organize something for that meal, which until then had been a haphazard compilation of  leftovers and simple things the kids would eat (they only eat simple things).  That got overwhelming quickly, so I toned it down again.

So now that Brett's been working downstairs for a few months, we've fallen into a new pattern of having fresh bread and splitting a can of soup for lunch, pretty much daily, and the kids continue with their usual simple things.

Going through all those cans of soup gave me the idea to make up a bunch of a few different kinds of soups and freeze them in quarts, so we can have a good rotation going, but mostly eat homemade food [and save money].

So last week I cooked and simmered and cooled 18 quarts of 6 different kinds of soup. Then yesterday, at long last, I made the final forgotten soup at the end of the list, of which I am proud of getting to before
A) the soup-craze motivation wore off and
B) my ingredients spoiled.

So without further ado, I present Creamy Carrot Soup.  

For the record, Ree Drummond is my hero and inspiration--her blog is hilarious and her recipes delicious!

I substituted vegetable broth, because that was in the cupboard,
and the chicken broth was all the way downstairs
Plus, it lends a rounder, sweeter taste to dishes when chicken broth make them more savory.
Also, milk and heavy cream to make half-n-half.

 Peel 8 large carrots.

I like to have a big plate or bowl for all the peels and parts when processing veggies or meat or whatever, makes it simpler.

And when I remember, being right-handed, its a more natural flow to have the garbage plate on the left side of my cutting board, saves some extra movements, which add up when you're chopping a lot of stuff, like for multiple freezer meals, which will be another post.

And also, I bought at 5lb bag of large carrots for the price of a bag of baby carrots and have used them in all the other soups I made, plus cutting them into matchsticks for the kids (they like their veggies small)--I feel proud of that stretched dollar...now to just keep peeling and matchsticking carrots all week, what a bore!

Uh-oh.
The hobbits are on to me.
Carrots are their new favorite food all of a sudden.
Sure, I'll play along.

Bought them off with a few carrot rounds.

Crush the garlic a bit with the flat side of a knife before peeling, makes the peel come off easier.

Then your sister, Juli, calls and you think, "Hey, I am a modern woman, I can multitask"
That's when you absentmindedly mince the garlic instead of putting it through the garlic press.
Princess Celestia was witness to my folly.

Now that your carrots and garlic are in a stockpot,
put on your favorite Little Mermaid swimsuit and zest a lemon!

Add 1.5 cups of your most convenient broth and...

Simma down now! [for about 20 min]

Don't forget your lid, we're not going for a reduction here.

Take a break for piggy-back rides...

Then squeeze the juice of half a lemon.

Grate 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
There are some spices that are comparable pre-ground vs grinding yourself.
Nutmeg is phenomenal when freshly ground, such a strong aroma and full-bodied flavor!
I highly recommend!

Mmm...take a minute to stop and smell the nutmeg.

Measure out Half-n-half.
Add salt and pepper to nutmeg.
Now these are these are ready to go into the carrots, but not yet.

20 min have passed, and your carrots are tender and your pot looks like this.
Here, I give you the maiden voyage of our new immersion blender!

The term "maiden voyage" reminds me of this:

"Take her to sea, Mr. Murdoch. 

Let's stretch her legs."

Which, in turn, reminds me of this:
Caution: language

Tee-hee.
...now where were we?

Blend those carrots.
To death!
Or at least until they're nice and smooth.
Oh, how smooth they will be!

 Add those things from earlier: Half-n-half, lemon juice, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Heat until warmed through.

And enjoy!

Man, this was good soup.  Despite being soup for kids, our kids didn't really dig it, but then they have a small list of foods they willingly eat these days.
I was most amazed at the creaminess mixed with the lemon.
Usually when I add lemon juice or zest to dishes, its good but is definitely acidic,
but this was really smooth and mellow!
And the nutmeg kind of enhanced the lemon and carrot flavor, but was very muted in the background--I wouldn't have been able to pick out what the spice was, had I not know it was in there.

So I will definitely make this again--its unusual but mellow, a great way to add variety to your soup rotation!


Creamy Carrot Soup for Kids
by Ree Drummond

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Serves: 6


8 whole Large Carrots, Peeled And Sliced
1-1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth (I used Vegetable broth)
2 cloves Garlic, Pressed (I accidentally minced, but they blended well later on)
1 whole Lemon, Zested
1-1/2 cup Half-and-half
Lemon Juice To Taste
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt (or Regular Salt To Taste)
Ground Black Pepper To Taste
Fresh Herbs (I didn't have these, so they must not have been important)

Preparation Instructions

Simmer carrots with chicken broth, garlic, and lemon zest for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat.
In a blender, blend carrots and broth until smooth. Add in half & half and juice of 1/2 lemon. Stir to combine. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste, checking seasoning as you go.

Pour back into pan and heat soup until just warm, then serve in bowls, garnished with basil.

What the Fudge‽

Welcome to my cooking blog, where I will be experimenting with new recipes and re-hashing the oldies and goodies!

This month's Adventures in Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Church Potluck Aspirations include this gem of a recipe from my fantastic friend, Virginia: a "healthy" fudge recipe.  "How healthy can fudge be?" you ask.

This healthy:

BOOM--Black beans! Honey! Olive oil!  Be still my heart!
But, does it taste like fudge?
Verdict to follow:

Melt chocolate and coconut oil; stir in olive oil.
It says saucepan, but I favor a double boiler anytime there is chocolate involved, 
because, invariably, my saucepans will scorch.

Add beans, walnuts, vanilla, Xanthan gum, coffee powder, salt and chocolate/oil mixture to food processor.

Blend until smooth.

There's a point in any new recipe where I think to myself
"Hmm, I hope its supposed to look like this."
We've reached that point.
I declared this smooth, then pulsed it a few more times for good measure.

All the honey ever and the eggs.

Add to the mucky-muck.

Now that's smooth, whew!

Pour into greased pan and bake for 40-45 min.
*Sprinkle with coarse salt right out of the oven

Well, I couldn't bring an untried recipe to Church Potluck, so I was obligated to taste a corner.
Then one more piece, for posterity.
Then the other part of the piece I cut for my husband, Brett.

Verdict:
I historically despise fudge--you think its going to be good chocolate, but its grainy and sweet and all weird and stuff.  Disappointed every time. And I'm a lover of chocolate.

I love this fudge, its got a great texture.  More like a cross between Flourless Chocolate Cake and a brownie, because of all those eggs.

It was hit and miss at the Church Potluck: several people asked for the recipe, others thought it was interesting.  And that I attribute to the coffee powder--it makes for a more bitter, darker chocolate flavor and, even with all that honey, it is not overly sweet.  Agave syrup seems sweeter, so I'm betting using that, and, also, using butter instead of coconut oil would make it a little richer and sweeter.

If you like bitter, black coffee, dark chocolate and brownies, this could be the gluten-free fudge for you!

Healthy Fudge‽
by: Virginia Berry

Serves: 24
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40-45 minutes

4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups cooked black beans, well-drained (I used canned and rinsed well)
1 cup walnut pieces (I omitted, wiggy nuts)
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum (Can be omitted but will be less firm and will need to be chilled 24 hrs before cutting)
1/4 cup coffee substitute or instant coffee powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups agave syrup or honey
*coarse salt

Instructions:

• Melt chocolate and butter/coconut oil in sauce pan.  Stir in oil and set aside.
• In a food processor place the beans, 1/2 cup walnuts, vanilla, Xanthan gum, coffee powder, salt and chocolate/oil mixture.  Blend until completely smooth.  Add the eggs and agave syrup/honey and process until incorporated and smooth.
• Smooth the batter into a greased 9 1/2 x 11-inch pan.  Sprinkle with remaining walnut pieces.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until the fudge is set.  Let cool in pan completely
• *Sprinkle with coarse salt right out of the oven, gives a great sweet/salty contrast.