mac n' cheesy chicken stuffed shells

today i'm sharing a self taught recipe that i've been debating blogging about for a while.  why?  because it's absolutely totally awsesomely incredible tasting comfort food, but frankly it's kinda nasty looking.  this is not a photogenic recipe, but after one heck of a miserable day yesterday (my car may or may not need a new alternator or battery mere weeks before i'm due to replace the car itself) all i wanted was some mac n' cheese with a dead bird inside.  don't judge.

if you have little ones to feed, i imagine this is a super kid friendly recipe.  last night I just wanted to throw my toys on the floor and have a childish tantrum, and it sure made me feel better.  my measurements are rather approximate, as i'm less a "measure and blend" kind of chef, and more of a"toss it in and see what happens" kind of cook.

you will need:

3-4 tbsp butter

12 oz evaporated milk

10.5 oz condensed cheddar cheese soup

8 oz brick cream cheese

2 cups shredded precooked chicken (i used a rotisserie chicken)

1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided (i used mild, but whatever strikes your fancy)

12 cooked jumbo pasta shells

melt the butter on medium heat over the stove and add cheese soup.  wisk until soup is less lumpy.  add evaporated milk gradually while wisking until smooth.  add 1/2 cup to 1 cup cheddar cheese gradually and continue to wisk as cheese melts.  allow cheese to melt thoroughly before adding too much.  you should have a thick velveeta-like cheese sauce that is a thick, yet pourable consistency with no lumps or stringiness.

soften cream cheese and combine with the chicken and remaining cheddar.  you could probably mash them together with a utensil, but i went straight for it with my hands.

stuff the shells with your cream cheese chicken cheddar cheese mixture.

arrange stuffed shells in a greased pan and smother them in the cheese sauce.  bake at 350 degrees for about a half hour.

Super-Ultra-Mega Treats

For a summer in college I worked at this mom and pop owned bakery / cafe back in the zoo ("kalamazoo" for those of you that haven't caught on to this blog title yet).  I used to throw out the left over donuts at the end of every day and was welcome to take / eat as many as I pleased.  Let me tell you that was NOTHING compared to my current workplace.  Apparently architects are addicted to sugar.  Yesterday, Charley's mom, who is known around the office as "The Cookie MoMster," showed up with 5 catering plates of sweets and I almost went into diabetic shock just looking at everything.  Then I tasted quite literally the greatest cookie I have ever eaten in my life.  Disclaimer: I am not a huge cookie girl.  I am more of a cake/fruity-custardy-crumbly/pie kind of lady.  If you ask me there is nothing better than a piece of chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick, so if you are a religious chocolate chip cookie person these might not blow your mindhole the way they did mine… but I suspect they still might.  They are THAT good.  Fortunately, Angie (The Cookie MoMster), is the most thoughtful lady alive and always provides the recipes for her baked goods.  So if you are looking to make someone a treat… or gain a lot of weight… make these things.  You will not be disappointed.

Chocolate Toffee Caramel Bars

Prep Time (30 mins) Ready in 3 hours

1 (18.25 oz) package butter recipe yellow cake mix with pudding

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1 (12 oz) package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup white vanilla chips

3 (1.4 oz) chocolate covered toffee candy bars (heath bars), cut into pieces

½ cup butter or margarine

32 vanilla caramels, unwrapped

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

1.)  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 13x9” pan.  In large bowl combine cake mix, oil, and eggs; blend well.  Stir in chocolate chips, vanilla chips, and candy bar pieces (mixture will be thick).  Press half of mixture in bottom of greased pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.

2.)  Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, combine butter, caramels, and condensed milk.  Cook over medium-low heat until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally.

3.)  Remove partially baked crust from oven.  Slowly pour caramel mixture evenly over crust.  Crumble remaining cake mix mixture over caramel.

4.) Return to oven; bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until top is set and edges are deep golden brown.  Cool 20 minutes.  Run knife around sides of pan to loosen bars.  Cool 40 minutes.  Refridgerate for 1 hour.  Cut into bars and store in refrigerator.

Servings: 24 bars

Serving Size: 1 bar

Calories: 430

Calories from Fat: 190

Total fat 21 g

Saturated fat 9g

Cholesterol 30mg

Sodium 280mg

Carbohydrate 55g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 46g

Protein 5g