twentynine:eleven: Cheese Louise.

2 Corinthians 3:3 "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." You are a living, breathing testament to God's work in you and His love for you. Now it is time to examine our lives to see if we are living in such a way to truly display Christ's mark. Remember - the Almighty Father created us in His own image and Scripture tells us that we are growing more and more like Him every day! You are a letter from Christ, sharing the story of His grace, mercy, and atoning sacrifice to all those around you!

Prepare to be stuffed with cheese. Seriously, I want to find the person who first invented (created? I don't know if cheese is considered an invention.) cheese and give him my utmost, sincerest thanks. Plus maybe a big smackaroo...don't tell James. Pinterest led me to this cheese-stuffed-heaven and all I can say is "Cheese louise, look at all this cheese!" (Back story on that quote...my college roommate uttered those infamous words while walking into the grocery store one day. She actually said "geez" but I heard "cheese" and then proceeded to mock her appropriately for the complete nerdy-ness of that phrase. And yet it stuck...)

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

From: http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/05/pesto-chicken-stuffed-shells.html

12-16 jumbo pasta shells

4 oz cream cheese, softened

(I think I used a little less, just because there is a lot of other cheese in this recipe)

1 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese + 1/4 cup for topping

3 Tbsp prepared pesto

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot over high heat, boil water and prepare pasta shells as directed on the package. Cook pasta only until al dente. The pasta will finish cooking when the dish is baked. Drain pasta and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine rest of ingredients, except the 1/4 cup of cheese for the topping. Fill the pasta shells with the filling and place in baking dish. (Hint: run pasta under cold water first before attempting to fill - I learned the hard way!) Sprinkle the remaining cheese over filled shells.

3. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 30 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts. I stuck mine under the broiler at the end for a few minutes to brown the cheese all nice and toasty.

O.M.G. Believe me when I tell you these shells are delicious but incredibly filling!! I ate one more than I probably should have and had that miserably yet wonderfully full feeling the rest of the night. I would have asked James to compare food babies but I don't know how he'd react. All I can say is mine was definitely around 8 and a half months at least!

This next recipe I got from my new cookbook "Simply Suppers" that my sister got me for my birthday. I've always been tempted to make my own spaghetti sauce but I thought it might be a little too complicated. Wrong. Super easy and hardly any prep work involved. The only thing better than this Mama's spaghetti would be to watch "Mama Mia" while shoveling it into my mouth. However, I believe Abba's soundtrack might prove to be too much of a strain on our marriage. And I kinda like this guy. So nix that idea....but this recipe was totally worth it, musical or not!

Mama's Spaghetti

From: "Simply Suppers" by Jennifer Chandler

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion

1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes with juice

1 tsp dried basil leaves

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper

1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add meat and cook until meat is browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the cooked meat to a colander and drain excess fat.

3. Drain all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from pot. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes.

4. Stir in tomatoes, basil, thyme, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Return meat to pot and stir to combine. Over high heat, bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until thickened, about 45 minutes. (We got hungry before then so I didn't simmer mine the full time). Adjust seasonings as needed.

6. Serve hot over warm pasta and enjoy!

I completely forgot to take a pic but believe me when I say it was a really awesome, really basic spaghetti sauce!

This next recipe I got from Pinterest, of course, and tweaked it a bit. Super simple, super easy, and would be really good to serve at any sort of get-together. They called there's beef-stuffed crescents but for some reason that name just is not very appealing to me. So I present to you....

Mexican Crescent Rolls

Adapted from: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Beef-Stuffed-Crescents-2

1 pound ground beef

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

3 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls

I added:

Shredded fiesta cheese

Diced white onion

Diced jalapeno

(in my halved version of this recipe, I did half a jalapeno. This recipe needed more spice so next time I would do a whole jalapeno. I'd also up the amount of chili powder, but that's just me!)

1. In a large skillet, cook beef, chilies, onions, and jalapenos (if adding) until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the cream cheese, cumin, and chili powder. Add shredded cheese (if using), allow to melt, cool slightly. *Since I added the shredded cheese I believe I used a little less cream cheese.

2. Separate crescent dough into 24 triangles. (In my halved version, I just used one can of crescent rolls, aka 8 triangles. I had a little meat filling leftover but James just ate that in a tortilla). Place 1 tablespoon of mixture along the short end of each triangle; carefully roll up. (I definitely did more than a tablespoon!)

3. Place point side down two inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 11-14 minutes or until golden brown.

This final recipe I also got from the "Simply Suppers" cookbook. Just looking at the page it seemed like it would be a little more time-consuming but it really wasn't too bad at all! Just a heads-up it's not a super saucy dish - the sauce is the kind that just kinda sticks to your noodles and doesn't swim around in the bottom of your bowl. This could be due to the fact that I completely omitted the heavy whipping cream (I don't keep it on hand and for the sake of our pants fitting the next day) but even with this omission, I would definitely make this dish again! I halved this recipe when I made it since it can serve 6 to 8 people.

Chicken Tetrazzini

From: "Simply Suppers" by Jennifer Chandler

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp olive oil

8 oz button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and thinly sliced

(I omitted...not a mushroom fan)

1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion

4 gloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 box (16 oz) linguine, cooked per package directions

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, divided

(I eye-balled and used dried parsley)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

2 cups heavy cream

(Like I said, I omitted altogether)

1 cup chicken stock

Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and set aside.

3. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter and oil. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently until the liquid from mushrooms evaporates and they become slightly golden, about 10 minutes.

4. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 2 minutes.

3. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the shredded chicken, cooked linguine, peas, and 2 Tbsp of parsley and set aside.

4. In the same pan used for the onions, melt the remaining 3 Tbsp of butter over medium-low heat. When butter starts to foam, add the flour and cook, whisking, until thickened, about 1 minute. While continuing to whisk, gradually add the milk, heavy cream, and chicken stock.

Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil.

5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 5 to 8 minutes. Pour the sauce over the pasta mixture and toss until well combined.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture and remaining 2 Tbsp parsley evenly over the pasta. Top with thinly sliced pats of butter (I omitted just to save a few calories). Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.