Cheesy Shell-Stuffed Shells w/ Vodka Cream Sauce

Where to start???  When I first saw the idea for jumbo shells stuffed with baby shells, I was pretty much mystified!  Once again, from my favorite, Noble Pig, I knew I had to give this one a try right away.  Holy moly, what a great recipe!  It's an impregnated shell smorgasbord!  I love how the baby shells break up the standard solid cheese filling you usually get with stuffed shells, yet you still get all the rich cheesy deliciousness!

Now I've never been too keen on the idea of vodka sauce.  Just the idea of VODKA on my pasta... it's always kinda turned me off.  But I decided to go with it this time and give it a try.  And let me tell you, if you haven't already tried it, it's fantastic!  You can't even taste the vodka, just GREAT flavor.  The recipe calls for a jar of sauce and she recommends the Emeril's brand.  But seeing as I was skeptical about the sauce to begin with, I decided to make it from scratch.  Based on a recommendation from my bestie, The Sassy Little Chef I went with a Rachel Ray recipe that was quick, easy, and oh so tasty!

So, if you are looking to try something that's takes classic flavors and puts a fun little spin on it, do try this one.  It's rich and wonderful without being to heavy.  Enjoy!

Cheesy Shell-Stuffed Shells
From Better Homes and Gardens

24 dried jumbo shell macaroni
8 oz. dried tiny shell macaroni (2 cups)
2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded (8 oz.)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or pepper
1 24 oz. jar vodka sauce (I hear Emeril's is great, but I made my own, see recipe below)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)
Fresh basil leaves, torn, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook jumbo shells according to package directions. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer shells to a colander. Rinse with cold water; drain well and set aside. In same pan cook tiny shells according to package directions. Drain; set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine Gruyere cheese, cheddar cheese, half-and-half and pepper. Heat over medium-low heat until cheese is melted and smooth, stirring frequently. Stir in tiny shells.
Spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Spoon cheese-shell mixture into drained jumbo shells; place stuffed shells in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce.
Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 15 minutes more or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Top with fresh basil and serve.

You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Sauce
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
2 cans crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat.

Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake

Raise your hand if you LOVE pumpkin as much as I do!!!  This was the perfect weekend for the sweet aroma a fall wafting through the house.  It was storming outside, so I got to baking inside!  I saw this recipe on one of very most favorite blogs, Noble Pig (check it out, you'll LOVE it!) and knew I had to give it a try.  It was certainly a winner.  And if you're lucky, you'll have all the ingredients on hand.  My dearest stated, "Wow babe, I think this might be the best baked good you've ever made for breakfast!"  That's a big, even if I haven't made that many baked goods for breakfast.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake

Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Cake:2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
For the topping, in a bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add butter and combine with fingertips until mixture is crumbly. Refrigerate while making batter.
Preheat oven to 350o F. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, applesauce, pumpkin, vanilla and both sugars until well mixed. Whisk in eggs. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined; do not overmix. Pour batter into cake pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with reserved topping.
Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool in pan on a wire rack at least 20 minutes.

Cheesy Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

Long Time No Blog!  I've been meaning to stop by and post something, anything for quite sometime now.  So here goes...

I threw together this Cheesy Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole in no time.  You can totally alter it to suit your tastes.  Be creative, have fun & enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

Chicken (you can use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or season & saute, shred, chop however you want it)
Enchilada Sauce (red or green - I used red)
Black beans, drained, and rinsed
Corn
Cheese (I uses a combo of jack, sharp cheddar, and crumbled cojita for the top)
Corn tortillas

Those are the basic ingredients, you can add more to spice it up if you so desire.

Mix together your chicken, corn, and black beans.

To assemble, pour a little of your enchilada sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish.  Then do a layer of tortillas (it's ok if they are overlapping a little.  I also like to cut them in half to make placing easier and coat them in the enchilada sauce), add some sauce, top with a layer of chicken, add a layer of cheese, then cover with more sauce and repeat.  Stop before you add the last layer of cheese.  You should end with chicken and then sauce.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 45min.  Then remove foil, add your final layer of cheese and bake for 15-20 more min.

Minty Milano Mousse Parfait

Looks decadent?  Sinful?  Naughty?  Well it's not, it's guilt free!  (the dessert, not the wine... pay no attention to that in the back ground.)  This crazy easy little number was too tasty to be less than 200 calories, but it factors in at right around 170 calories each!  The best part about it is you can make it in a snap!  Just make sure to make it pretty soon before you serve them.  I made the mistake of making them while I was making dinner and sticking them in the fridge.  Figured I'd take my blog picture before serving and got the outcome below.  They still tasted great, just a little wilted. Luckily I had an impressed guest who snapped this photo before they went in the fridge (hence the wine glass).

There are two key ingredients to this dessert... they are what make it light and oh so delicious!

This wonderfully light and delicious Jello Brand Mousse Temptations, Chocolate Mint Flavor and...

the oh so heavenly Mint Milano cookie

Simply chop up your cookies (I did 6 cookies for 5 servings) and layer them in parfait glasses, alternating with the mousse and some fat fee cool whip.  Top with a sprinkle of the cookie crumbs and serve. 

Just don't let them wait around in the fridge too long or they'll end up looking like this...

But don't worry, they'll still taste great!  Enjoy!

Avalanche Bars

Ok, so again we're off the healthy cooking track, but I had to share.  One of the most wonderful things I've ever tasted was this sinfully delicious treat from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, you know the place so well known for the amazing and anything but ordinary carmel apples.  Well I stopped in one day on my way out of town, figuring I'd pick up a few goodies for my mom, sis, and the doggies (yep, the make adorable little doggie treats too).  while I was trying to decide which totally healthy apples I wanted, I happened to see something that slightly resembled a rice krispy treat only WAY better.  It was labeled "Avalanche Bark" not knowing what I was in for I decided to grab a piece...  I think that day changed my life forever.  When I got in the car I reached into my bag and tore of a piece of that little Avalanche and was blown away!  This was no ordinary rice krispy treat.  It was everything good and wonderful all rolled into one treat.  After A couple of bites I actually had to wrap it up and throw it into the the back seat out of arms reach so that it could make it to my destination.  No way it was going to survive a three hour car ride unless I couldn't get to it.

After that day I made it my mission to figure out how to recreate them myself.  And let me tell you I have created many an addict to these Avalanche Bars.  The greatest part is they are so easy to make.  I think they are easier to make than rice krispy treats because you don't have all that sticky marshmallow mess!  The best part is you can even change it up a bit.  I've added cut up oreos, holiday m&m, or fun sprinkles for color.  Try them for yourself if you dare... you will be hooked!

Avalanche Bars
1 (12 ounce) bag white chocolate chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups crispy rice cereal
1/2 cup mini chocolate chip
1 1/2 -2 cups miniature marshmallows

Melt white chocolate chips with peanut butter over a double boiler. (A large bowl over a pot of simmering water works great.) Once completely melted (white chocolate is delicate, be careful not to cook it too hot or too long), remove from heat and add rice cereal.

Now for the hard part, WAIT until the mix has reached room temperature BUT don't put it in the fridge! It's worth the wait so don't rush this! Once it reaches room temperature add marshmallows. Mix well, but don’t over mix.

Dump mixture into a greased 9x9 square pan. Lightly press with greased spoon, but not too hard. Too compacted and you’ll be sorry (trust me... I've made this mistake before.  You'll need a chain saw to cut them apart). Sprinkle top with chocolate chips & place in fridge for another 30 minutes.
When hardened, cut like rice krispy treats & you will ENJOY!

When life hands you banana bread, make french toast!

Thursday night we went to the Farmers Market and tasted some amazing pumpkin cranberry bread that I just had to have.  I was so excited to have a slice of it when it got home.  I opened the pesky little plastic container, sliced off a piece and thought well this looks odd... wait!  That's not pumpkin!  That is banana bread.  Boo!  Not that I have anything against banana bread, usually... but I was a little angry at this banana bread.  See I had sampled it and it was OK, tasty but just OK in comparison to the amazing pumpkin cranberry bread.  So, instead of sitting around and being angry as a loaf of banana bread I decided to turn it into something lovely, french toast!  Who says you need to use boring ole bread for french toast??

Oh yes, weekend breakfast time, not really the time for a light and healthy meal in our house.  This one was sweet, decadent and oh so delicious!  Topped with a dash of powdered sugar, a dab of butter and some homemade syrup.  Don't forget to slice up some fresh fruit for the side so you feel like there's something healthy on the table.  Enjoy!

Fluffy French Toast
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 pinch salt
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I also added 1/2 of a vanilla bean)
1 tablespoon white sugar
12 thick slices bread (I used 6 slices of banana bread)
 
Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.


Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.

Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.

The best thing I've ever made...

Ok, well maybe not the best thing EVER, but this was an outstanding dish!  I saw a recipe in the Raley's Something Extra magazine from chef Rick Bayless and decided to put a few twists on it to make it my own and make to it more suitable to our household tastes.  We also had a little last minute dinner party and every plate on the table was cleaned.  I think we were all a bit surprised by how much we enjoyed this healthy twist on the chili relleno that ditched that greasy fried batter.  Was it the BEST thing I ever made?  hmmmm, that's a tough one, definitely the best thing I've made this week, and overall it's pretty high up there on the list!  I think it's safe to say that everyone at the table agreed this one was two thumbs up!  Enjoy!

Stuffed Chilies Grilled in Corn Husks
14 large dried corn husks
12 medium Anaheim chiles
1 medium red onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick
Vegetable oil & salt
2 cups diced rotisserie chicken
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
8 oz shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
1 tsp house seasoning or salt & pepper
Tomatillo Salsa, for serving

Soak the corn husks in hot water for one hour to soften; drain and set aside.

Roast the chiles on grill at medium-high until blackened and blistered, about 4 minutes. Collect in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Meanwhile, brush both sides of the onion slices with a little oil, sprinkle with salt, then lay in a single layer on the grill. Grill, turning at least once, until richly browned and soft, about 7 minutes. Scoop onto a cutting board and chop into small pieces.

When the chiles are cool enough to handle, peel off the blistered skin. Make a slit in the side of each chili and use your finger to scrape out the seeds. Rinse briefly to remove any stray seeds or bits of skin. Dry with paper towels.

In a large bowl, mix together the chopped chicken, shredded cheese, chopped grilled onion, corn & seasonings.  Stuff each chile with a portion of the cheese mixture.

Pat corn husks dry and place on a flat surface.  Place two chiles lengthwise on a corn husk and roll up.  Lay each “chile relleno roll” on another corn husk, tapered end pointing the opposite direction. Tear six 1/4-inch strips from the remaining corn husks and use them to tie around the center of each roll. Lay the rolls on the grill.

Grill them for 10 to 12 minutes, turning them regularly, until the corn husks are slightly charred, the cheese has melted and the filling is warm warm. Slide them onto plates, cut off the ties, open the husk.  Top with tomatillo salsa.




What's the best thing that you've ever made? This inquiring mind would love to know!