Contentment and Stuffed Shells

Welcome back. This week's post will have far fewer pictures because I was hurriedly putting this meal together while there was a 1 1/2 year old was hanging on my leg. I went through a phase in high school where I was obsessed with Chicken, broccoli Alfredo pasta. I'd order it whenever I was out; I'd request it for my birthday dinners. I still love it but I eat it much less often. For today's recipe I followed a spin on this meal.

But first some thoughts.

I'm in a book club studying contentment. It's interesting because contentment is quickly becoming an out of date concept or a fairy tale to us. Something that is to be striven after but never attained. Our book is The Art of Divine Contentment by Thomas Watson. Working off of Paul's words in Philippians Watson pens a very convicting insight into just how destructive discontentment is to the Christian life and how contentment is possible when based on something more than tangible comfort. "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." (Phil 4:11-12) In chapter 7 of his book the Puritan writer states "The Wise God hath ordered our condition; if he sees it better for us to abound, we shall abound; if he sees it better for us to want, we shall want; be content to be at God's disposal." This is a hard lesson to swallow, especially in this culture that breads entitlement and promises comfort if one is willing to work for it. Placing yourself at the Lord's disposal in areas of life such as ministry, vocation and the like seems much easier than throwing your whole self on the Lord's mercy for your contentment. How is this done exactly? Like many crisis in life, this one is solved by reevaluating priorities. My highest priority should be my relationship with the Lord, my identity unshakably grounded in him. When our anchor is secure the waves may crash as they like. Later in chapter 9 he says "Every man is complaining that his estate is no better, though he seldom complains that his heart is no better." What's funny is that I am liable to complain about both, but that's neither here nor there. Perhaps my life seems stuck in neutral at the moment because I have not learned to base my contentment on the condition of my heart and its relationship with the Lord. 

Contentment an unattainable goal? I think not.

But back to cooking. Dinner today: Chicken, broccoli Alfredo stuffed shells. Original recipe credit to Taste of Home Magazine http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chicken-broccoli-shells

What you'll need:

2 Chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (apx 2 cups)

2 cups frozen or fresh Broccoli (if frozen you'll need to thaw)

1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 box Jumbo Shells

1 16 oz jar of Alfredo sauce (I used lite)

One of the frustrating things for me is that recipes never tell you how to do the basics. For instance, hard boiling eggs causes me great anxiety. Do you put the eggs in with the water initially or do you drop them in once the water is boiling? Is it a hard boil for 10 minutes or bring to a hard boil initially and then drop it down? This recipe tells you to cook your chicken breasts first, but for how long and at what temperature? I cooked mine at 425 F for about a half-hour, flipping them every 10 minutes. However, I live in Colorado Springs and altitude is a factor in my cooking. You may only need to cook your chicken at 400 F for 20 minutes depending on where you live and the thickness of the chicken.

If anyone knows any tricks to getting jumbo shells from sticking to each other please let me know. I tore plenty of my shells trying to separate my cooked shells from each other in order to stuff them. I've heard that adding olive oil to your water as you boil your noodles helps with the sticking problem but I have never tried it. Perhaps I should in the future.

This is a simple throw-everything-together-and-bake-it recipe. After cutting up your chicken, mix all the ingredients together (as seen bellow) and stuff your shells. Place your shells in a greased 13 x 9 pan.

Bake your shells at 350 F for 30-35 minutes (until they're hot the whole way through). That's it!

Though I have some critiques of this recipe, it did manage to please my hardest critic.

This recipe is simple and that is reflected in the taste. I would advise adding garlic, Italian spices and/or black pepper to jazz up this dish. Also, I would recommend using two jars of sauce: one to mix in the filling and one to cover the shells before they bake. Otherwise the shells bake up a bit dry.

Over all I give this one 4 Stars. One or two adjustments would easily jack it up to a full 5 Stars though.

Until next week my friends