Carnation Evaporated Milk...Stuffed Shells Florentine and Carnation Famous Fudge Recipes

Most of us have grown up seeing evaporated milk in the pantry. But did we really use it? Evaporated milk seems like a throw back to out parents and grandparents generations. I admit I buy a can here and there when I see it on sale. I recall my Nigerian father used evaporated milk everyday in his tea. It was product he had no choice to use growing up in a tropical climate. He continued with it even moving over to the United Sates. I have come to find out Carnation , otherwise known as the cooking milk,is a a great substitute for cream, half and half, because its lower in fat. Mostly when I have used canned evaporated milk , its been for sweet recipes. But Carnation works just as well in savoury. Researching the Carnation site , I saw great recipes for salad dressings,and even a spicy peanut sauce using evaporated milk.Anywhere you use milk, think of Carnation as a replacement for more flavour.When the people of Carnation contacted me to try their products and create an original recipe and make one out of their Holiday recipe book, I said of course. I love a challenge to create recipes. I will disclose that Carnation and One 2 One Network gave me a gift card to purchase the groceries and coupons for free Carnation product. My opinions, however are my own.

With Certain Someone finally home, I envisioned a pasta dish of stuffed shells filled with spinach, chopped ham, and ricotta. The Carnation Evaporated Milk would be used to make a creamy cheesy Becahmel style sauce with added Mozzarella. The Stuffed Shells Florentine is a crowd pleaser that can go a long way in feeding the family. After a long day, Certain Someone gave his approval on the dish. I find its tasted better even the next day. Next time I may use shrimp or crab, rather than ham.






Stuffed Shells Florentine
1 box Jumbo Shells
1 15 oz Ricotta Cheese
2 eggs
Pinch of nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded ( I for Ricotta Mixture and 1 for sauce)
1 cup chopped ham
1/2 cup thawed frozen spinach( drained)
2 12 oz cans Carnation Evaporated Milk
1/4 cup flour
6 tbsp butter

Boil the Jumbo Pasta shells until al dente ( 12-13 minutes). Rinse and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl combine Ricotta, eggs, spinach, nutmeg, salt, pepper, 1 cup mozzarella, and chopped ham. Mix well and set aside.
In a saucepan melt butter and add flour at medium heat. Do not burn butter. Mix until flour is dissolved in the butter. Allow to cook for a few minutes. Gradually add the Carnation Evaporated Milk to the flour and butter and with a whisk stir until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk while mixture starts to simmer and thicken. Remove form heat and add the remaining cup of Mozzarella Cheese.
Preheat Oven to 350F.
In a baking dish , pour a layer of sauce. Fill pasta shells with Ricotta mixture and place in layers in baking dish. Cover a completed layer with sauce and continue process. Cover top with remaining sauce . Cover baking dish with aluminum foil or lid and bake for 30-40 until bubbly .

With Halloween and the Holidays approaching , who doesn't like fudge? I got this recipe from the Carnation Holiday book which I have provided a link for below. I stuck to the recipe , but took the liberty of adding some chopped pecans on top of fudge as well as in the mixture. I imagine coconut, dried cherries, walnuts, almonds would work equally well. Next time I will also play around with various extracts and flavours. For Halloween I can imagine piping the squares with white royal icing in the shape of spider webs.

Carnation Famous Fudge
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup (5 fl oz can Carnation Evaporated Milk)
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups Nestle Toll House Semi Sweet Morsels
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract

Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil.
Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in medium heavy duty saucepan. Bring to full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes, Remove from heat.
Stir in marshmallows, morsels, nuts, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan, remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces.

Holiday Recipe Booklet full of sweet and savory recipes:

http://bit.ly/CEMholiday

Cooking Benefits of evaporated milk:

http://bit.ly/cookingbenefits

Nutrition Info:

http://bit.ly/o2onutrition

The different types of evaporated milk:

http://bit.ly/rightmilkforyou

Carnation Virtual Kitchen:

http://bit.ly/carnationvirtualkitchen

Additional Recipe Ideas:

http://bit.ly/additionalrecipes

Recipe Personality Quiz:

http://bit.ly/recipepersonalityquiz