Stuffed White Cheddar and Chicken Shells

I know.  It's been a month since my last post.  It's a good thing I am not trying to win food blogger of the year, because epic fail for me.

So it's like this.  I will no longer call myself a food blogger (not that I ever have).  Instead, I'll just be a housewife who posts her favorite recipes when she has a pocket of time.

Whew.  Pressure gone.

But guess what?  I have a pocket of time.  And I've got a recipe with a story behind it.

In 2007, I entered this recipe in a macaroni and cheese contest sponsored by Tillamook cheese.  (And by the way, Tillamook has really awesome cheese, and, no, they didn't tell me to say that.  The Smoked Black Pepper White Cheddar loaf?  Heaven.)  I made it to the semifinals in San Antonio where I would vie to win the spot in the grand finale cook-off in Portland, Oregon.  My husband drove me there, I competed, did not win, came home, and moved onto other contests.

A couple of weeks later, the Tillamook people called and told me that the winner would be unable to compete in the grand finale cook-off, and since I had taken second place, would I want an all-expenses paid trip for two to Portland, Oregon to compete in the cook-off?

Gosh.  Let me think about that.  Free trip for two to Portland, Oregon?  That's a toughie.

Of course I said yes, and they booked me and my daughter on a flight in December.  We were super excited, that is until the day of the flight when I had a small nervous breakdown.

I do not like to fly.  I mean, I really do not like to fly.  I do it.  I do it several times a year, but always with a small to significant amount of anxiety.  I won't go into all the many specific fears I have about flying, but this particular time I just let my emotions absolutely swallow me.  And I was a basket case.

So I called my husband on the way to the airport about halfway into a two and a half hour drive, and I told him that if I didn't get an overwhelming sense of peace in the next five minutes, I was going to turn the car around and forget the whole trip.  And I was serious.  I didn't think I had a chance of winning anyway, since I was a replacement finalist.  So he calmly talked me through it, prayed for me, told me that I was giving into fear and all that stuff, and let me know that I would be giving up an opportunity that most people would love to have.  So I got my peace, flew to Portland, and won the grand prize of $5000.

I will never forget the look on my daughter's face when they called my name as the winner.  I was looking straight at her and she jumped out of her seat with the biggest smile ever.  I'd like to think at that moment she was thinking "I have the most talented mom EVER!" but it was probably more like "Now we shop!" because she had spied a North Face store several streets over before the contest and didn't let me forget it.

We had a fantastic trip together and it wasn't because I won.  It was because we were in an exciting city together, having an adventure and lots of fun.  And to think I almost missed it.

Here's the recipe. I hope you like it as much as we do.  It's kind of a ridiculous concept, I mean pasta stuffed in pasta?  But I promise it's delicious.

-If you can't find aged white cheddar, regular white cheddar is fine.

-6 ounces of small shell pasta is about 1 1/2 cups.

-Rotisserie chicken is especially good in this since it has lots of flavor.

-Cornflakes make a nice crunchy topping, but you could certainly use bread crumbs, panko, or your choice of crunchy topping.  I use finely crushed pretzels sometimes.


Jumbo Shell Pasta Stuffed With Baby White Cheddar and Chicken Shells

Printable Recipe

6 ounces-dried small shell macaroni noodles (about 1 1/2 cups)

12 ounces dried jumbo shell macaroni noodles

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1 cup half and half

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

4 cups shredded aged white cheddar cheese, divided

3/4 cup chopped oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, drained

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Non-stick cooking spray

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup finely crushed cornflakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large saucepan, cook both macaroni noodles separately according to package directions to al dente.  Immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain and set each aside. 

In a large heavy saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium to high heat; add flour and whisk for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in the milk and half and half; continue to cook over medium to high heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.  Stir in the salt, pepper, and 3 cups of the shredded cheese, until melted.  Stir in the small shell macaroni, the chopped sun dried tomatoes and the shredded chicken. 

Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Fill each jumbo shell carefully with the white cheddar macaroni and place each side by side in the dish.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup shredded cheese.  Stir together the 2 tablespoons melted butter and the crushed cornflakes.  Sprinkle evenly on tops of shells.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Candied Cranberry Baby Backs

I'm gonna make this short and sweet.  Last year I had the honor of being chosen to compete in a rib cook-off in Lake Tahoe.  You can read all about it here.  Even though I am not the most confident or skilled grillmaster, I managed to pull off the grand prize win.  No one is more surprised by this than me.  And if you say, "No, Lorie, I really am much more surprised than you that you won,"  then I will say right back to you that you are indeed mistaken.  I am the most surprised.  So don't argue with me.

Anyway, Gnarly Head Wines is sponsoring another rib cook-off, so I am trying to dream up yet another entry that might get me invited back.  So while I work behind the scenes concocting marinades and sauces and rubs, here is my winning recipe from 2010.

My Darling Clementine Candied Cranberry Baby Backs

Printable Recipe

1 (16-ounce) can cranberry jelly

1/4 cup hoison sauce

1 cup fresh Clementine juice (or tangerine or orange juice)

2 teaspoons Clementine zest (or tangerine or orange zest)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 racks baby back pork ribs (about 6 pounds total), outer membrane removed

Kosher salt for seasoning ribs

Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning ribs

Preheat a charcoal grill to medium heat for indirect grilling. 

Combine the cranberry jelly and the next 6 ingredients in a medium fire proof, heavy saucepan.  Place on the grill over medium heat and cook, stirring often for about 20 to 30 minutes or until sauce thickens.  Set aside.

Season ribs with kosher salt and pepper.  Place on grill and cook for 2 to 3 hours, with the lid closed, rotating the ribs every 15-20 minutes.  The temperature of the ribs should be 155 degrees thermometer is inserted into thickest part.  During the last 30 minutes of cooking, mop the ribs with the glaze on both sides, about every five minutes.  Remove from grill and let rest for about 5 minutes before cutting each rack in thirds.  6 servings.   

Dirt Cake

I can remember exactly where I was when I first ate dirt cake.  I was in Copeland, Alabama and it was the summer of  1990.

I'm pathetic, I know.

I was at my stepfather's brother's house and he was having a huge get-together.  They were roasting a whole hog, but who really cares because there was dirt cake.  And I had never heard of it before and when I took a bite, I was like "What on earth is this stuff?"

And someone said "Dirt cake."

And then my life had meaning.

Dirt cake is ridiculously rich, but it's so yummy it's almost irresistible.  Or, in my case, it is irresistible.  It's basically crushed Oreo cookies in a vanilla pudding and cream cheese mixture.  I'm not sure why it's called cake.  That part is confusing.  But the recipe is easy.  I got it from a church cookbook years ago.

I usually only make this about once or twice a year, and usually only for events involving children.  This week was perfect because my cousin was visiting with her family, and when we all got together, there were lots of children.

So this was for the children.  Yeah.

Please notice was his shirt happens to say. :o)

 Here are some things to remember:

-I found this milk chocolate rock candy at Wal-Mart, and I used it to decorate the top, as well as placing some of them in the cookie crumb layers (as long as it doesn't touch the actual pudding because it will melt and make the pudding discolored and ugly--I found this out the hard way) to look like rocks in soil.

-And by the way, Wal-Mart has all kinds of cute gourmet candy, in case you haven't visited their candy aisle lately.  Since it just takes a few to worms to decorate, I actually froze all of the gummy worms I bought from the last time I made dirt cake, that way I don't have to go out and buy more.

-I don't like putting worms in the actual pudding, either, because they melt and create a bad flavor and color.  I usually just decorate the top with them.

-The green grass clumps are a tube of green frosting using a #233 grass tip.

-This is better if it chills overnight.  I decorate it right before I serve it.

-I'm sure you've seen this served in a (unused) flower pot with some plastic flowers sticking out of it.  That's another way to present it.  Or little individual flower pots.  Cuteness.  But how about adding some fondant flowers on top?  Or maybe some candy Easter eggs for an Easter dinner dessert?  Lots of different ways to make this special.

Dirt Cake

Printable Recipe

3 1/2 cups whole milk

2 small packages instant French vanilla pudding

1 stick butter, softened to room temperature

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (16-ounce) container non-dairy whipped topping

2 packages chocolate sandwich cookies

Milk chocolate candy rocks

A tube of green frosting

Assorted gummy worms

Whisk the milk and pudding together in a large bowl until smooth.  Let stand five minutes.  In another large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together with a hand mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth.  Add the pudding and beat until smooth.  Fold in the non-dairy whipped topping.

Crush 1 package of cookies so that there are some fine crumbs, but also some larger pieces.  There needs to be a variety.  Fold this into the pudding mixture until evenly mixed.

Finely crush the other bag of cookies.  In a large clear glass trifle dish, pour about a third of the pudding mixture into the bottom and spread to smooth.  Sprinkle with a layer of about a third of the finely crushed cookies.  Stick several of the candy rocks in the cookie layer, especially around the perimeter of the dish where they will be visible.  (To look like rocks in the soil.)  Top with another third of the pudding mixture on top of the cookie layer, then repeat with another cookie layer and some more candy rocks.  Spread the remaining third of the pudding on top, then top with the remaining cookie crumbs.  Add clumps of grass in different spots using a grass tip and the green frosting, then place more rocks and gummy worms on top to decorate.  Chill for several hours to overnight before serving.