Shells Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Use ground lamb or ground goat meat.

Recipe by Steve Baetje, Baetje Farms | 

Serves | 8 |

• 1 box jumbo pasta shells
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 14½-oz can stewed tomatoes
• 6-oz can tomato paste
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp beef bouillon
• 1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
• 12 oz Baetje Farms garlic and chives Coeur de la Crème goat cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs

| Preparation | Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Brown beef in saucepan and drain excess fat. Add onion to beef and cook till onion is tender. Add tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, parsley, water, bouillon and Italian seasoning. Simmer for 30 minutes. In separate bowl, mix together goat cheese, ½ cup mozzarella and eggs. Stuff shells with cheese mixture and arrange in baking dish. Ladle sauce over shells and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Chavrie® Cherry Bread Pudding

Serves 5

Ingredients

1 egg

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup Chavrie® Goat Cheese

½ cup half-and-half or milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 sweet Hawaiian dinner rolls, torn in 1" pieces (from 12-oz. pkg.)

¼ cup dried tart cherries

Instructions

Heat oven to 325° F. Butter 2 oven-proof dishes or ramekins, 8 to 10 oz. capacity each.
Whisk together the egg, sugar and Chavrie® in medium bowl.
Whisk in the half-and-half and vanilla.
Stir in the roll pieces and dried cherries until well coated.
Let stand 5 minutes.
Spoon evenly into dishes. Bake 25 to 28 minutes or until set and knife inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool 15 minutes. Serve topped with a small scoop of ice cream.

Tarragon Chavrie® Chicken with Mushrooms

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 ea. (8 oz. each) Chicken breast, boneless, skinless

To taste Sea salt and black pepper

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 cups Shiitake mushrooms, sliced

3 oz. Shallots, minced

1 cup dry white wine

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. Fresh tarragon, chopped

1 pkg. 5.3 oz. Chavrie® Pyramid

1 pkg. (7 oz.) Alouette Crème Fraîche

Instructions

Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat oil and butter in large sauté pan until the butter is melted. Sear chicken, 2 mins. on each side, and remove from pan.
Add mushrooms and shallots, and sauté until mushrooms become tender.
Add wine, mustard, Chavrie® and Alouette Crème Fraiche to center of the pan stir until blended, reduce to low heat.
Return chicken to the pan and simmer for 10 mins.
Place chicken on serving dishes.
Add tarragon to sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Top chicken breasts with finished sauce.

Chavrie ® Creamy Risotto

 
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1 pkg. (5.3oz) Chavrie® Basil and Roasted Garlic goat cheese

5 C Chicken stock or broth

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

½ C Minced onion

1 cup Arborio rice

½ C White wine

2 tsp. Flat leaf parsley finely chopped

2 Tbsp. Pesto

Instructions

Bring chicken stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.
Heat olive oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan.
Add minced onions and cook until translucent.
Pour in the arborio rice, cook for 4 minutes, stirring until well coated.
Turn the heat to high and add the white wine, simmer until mostly absorbed.
Add the hot stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until absorbed by the rice. Continue to add stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to release the starch. Check rice for doneness after 18 minutes, rice should be al dente but cooked through.
Stir in Italian parsley, and Chavrie®.
Season with salt and pepper serve immediately.

Variation:
Replace Chavrie® Basil and Roasted garlic with Chavrie® and omit pesto
Replace Chicken broth with vegetable broth 

Chavrie® Crab Empanadas

Chavrie® Crab Empanadas
Preparation Time: 50 Minutes
Makes 30-40

Ingredients

Filling:

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

1 Tbsp. Spanish onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. Jalapeno, minced

¼ C Red Pepper (chopped)

8 oz. Picked lump crabmeat

1 – 3.5 oz. Chavrie®log

1 tsp. Chopped cilantro

1Tbsp. Italian parsley (chopped)

7 oz. Corn (drained)

1 tsp. Cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Empanada dough :

2 bx. Frozen Pie dough (thawed)

1 qt. Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Filling: In a saute pan on medium, heat olive oil and saute onion, garlic, jalapeño, and red pepper. Set aside to chill
In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Mix sautéed vegetables with the crabmeat mixture and place in the refrigerator
Lay thawed pie dough on a lightly floured flat surface cut 3 inch circles
To assemble, spoon about 1/2 to 3/4 Tbsp. of the filling in the center of each empanada dough round.
Fold over to form a half-moon pie shape and crimp the edges to seal.
Place finished empanadas in the refrigerator on sheet tray to chill
Preheat deep fryer to 350°F
Deep Fry until golden brown and crispy Serve with: Chavrie Jalapeño Queso

Fluffy Apple Dip

Fluffy Apple Dip

Our taste panel simply raved about this fast, fabulous dip! “It's a family favorite beginning with the fall apple harvest right through New Year's,” says Sharon Parks of Adair, Illinois. She uses red, green and yellow apples to make it more colorful.

8 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 10 min.

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
• Assorted apple wedges

Directions

• In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and pie spice
• until blended; fold in marshmallow creme. Serve with apple wedges.
• Yield: 2 cups.

Nutrition Facts: 1/4 cup dip (calculated without apples) equals 194 calories, 11 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 31 mg cholesterol, 114 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 3 g protein.

LAMB RAGU

LAMB RAGU

Yield: 12 to 16 servings

6 lamb shanks (about 3 pounds), untrimmed

Salt

2 carrots, plus 2 cups finely cubed carrots (5 to 6 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch cubes), divided

2 large onions, plus 2 cups finely diced onion (about 2 onions, cut into 1/4-inch pieces), divided

3 ribs celery, plus 2 cups finely cubed celery (4 to 5 ribs, cut into 1/4-inch cubes), divided

Olive oil

1 1/2 cups red wine

1 sprig fresh rosemary

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh marjoram

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

5 juniper berries

About 2 quarts chicken broth

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Ground black pepper

1 pound pappardelle pasta

8 ounces fresh ricotta, preferably sheep's milk

Parmesan cheese

1. Place lamb shanks on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Season each shank with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place shanks, uncovered, in the refrigerator and chill overnight.

2. Coarsely chop 2 whole carrots along with 2 whole onions and 3 ribs celery.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy roasting pan over high heat until almost smoking. Add shanks and brown on all sides to a nice golden brown. Transfer shanks to a plate or baking sheet.

4. To the hot pan, add coarsely chopped carrots, onions and celery, and scrape the bottom of the pan to release flavorful brown bits. Stir in wine, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, cinnamon stick and juniper berries. Simmer over medium heat, until liquid reduces by half, about 5 minutes.

5. Return shanks to the pan, and pour in just enough chicken broth to cover the shanks. Cover the pan with foil to form a tight seal, then cover with the pan's lid.

6. Place the pan in the oven and cook until the meat pulls easily from the bone, about 3 to 4 hours.

7. Gently remove the shanks from the pan, and strain the liquid in the pan into a large measuring cup, discarding the vegetables and solids. Set the strained liquid aside.

8. Cool the shanks slightly, then pull the meat from the bone, shredding the meat into large pieces. Discard the tendons, and separate the meat from the fat, saving each separately. Coarsely chop the fat.

9. In a large sauté pan, heat the butter along with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the lamb fat over medium-high heat. Cook slowly until fat is a deep brown; fat will "pop" in the pan.

10. Stir in the finely cubed carrots, onions and celery, then add the shredded meat. Add enough of the strained liquid to cover the meat and vegetables, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Very gently simmer the meat and vegetables for 1 hour, stirring occasionally and taking care not to break the meat into smaller pieces. This makes about 8 cups ragu.

11. When the ragu is almost done, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pappardelle until it is just al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes or according to the package directions.

12. Strain the pasta, saving a little of the cooking liquid to stir with the ricotta. Toss the pasta with just enough ragu to dress it lightly.

13. Press the ricotta through a fine strainer into a medium bowl, then stir in a couple of tablespoons of the pasta liquid to give the cheese a lighter consistency, adding more liquid if desired.

14. To serve the ragu, spoon a little of the ricotta on each plate. Spoon over the pappardelle and ragu, and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Per serving (based on 16): 321 calories; 13g fat; 6g saturated fat; 76mg cholesterol; 22g protein; 26g carbohydrate; 3g sugar; 2g fiber; 280mg sodium.

Adapted from Pizzeria Ortica, Costa Mesa, Calif.