Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom stuffed Conchiglie

I love any sort of pasta dish especially if it can be prepared ahead then sprinkled with Parmesan and baked in the oven for 20 minutes before serving. These jumbo shells (conchiglie shells) have been stuffed with two fillings one is a cheese filling and that is topped with a chicken, bacon, mushroom and tomato filling. I have used the Mini Bowl for most of the chopping but you can use the Tefal Cuisine Companion main bowl with the Ultrablade and internal steam basket inserted to do the chopping

Note: I have used minced chicken but you can mince your own chicken in the Mini Bowl or the main bowl with the Ultrablade inserted.
Note: Mushrooms pulsed in the Mini Bowl can resemble a paste which won't affect the flavour of the dish, you can finely chop the mushrooms by hand if preferred.

125 gms Mushrooms halved
60 gms short cut Bacon sliced in half
1 brown Onion quartered
1 Garlic Clove
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
250 gms Chicken minced
400 gms Passata
1 teaspoon dried Italian Herbs or 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs of choice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch of Brown Sugar (optional)
20 Jumbo Shells (Conchiglie Shells)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil extra
170 gms smooth Ricotta
5 gms Parmesan freshly grated
100 gms Mozzarella finely grated
1 tablespoon Parley chopped
Extra Parmesan cheese grated

Insert Mini Bowl
Add mushrooms
Pulse 10 seconds, scrape down bowl with spatula and Pulse a further 5 seconds or until finely chopped.
Remove mushrooms from Mini Bowl and set aside.
Add bacon to Mini Bowl
Pulse 5 seconds
Remove bacon and set aside with chopped mushrooms.
Add onion and garlic clove to Mini Bowl
Pulse 5 seconds, scrape down bowl with spatula and Pulse a further 5 seconds or until finely chopped.
Remove Mini Bowl
Insert Stirring Blade. Stopper out.
Add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, mushrooms and bacon. Slow Cook P1:5mins
Add minced chicken
Slow Cook P1:5mins breaking down chicken with spatula as required.
Add passata, herbs, brown sugar and salt and pepper.
Slow Cook P2:100deg:45mins placing some paper towelling over hole in lid to prevent splattering.
Set aside to cool.
Cook 18-20 conchiglie shells in plenty of boiling water with 1 tablespoon of olive oil added until al dente. Mine took about10 minutes.
Drain and set aside.
Combine smooth Ricotta, grated Mozzarella, 5 gms grated Parmesan and parsley in small mixing bowl.

Assembly 

Pre heat oven to 160 degrees

Spoon 3 tablespoons of the chicken sauce mixture onto base of casserole dish.
Add 1 heaped teaspoon of the combined cheese mixture into each shell and place the shells into casserole dish.
Spoon in enough chicken sauce mixture to fill each shell.
Any remaining sauce can be spooned between the shells if desired.
Top with remaining grated Parmesan.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden.
Garnish as desired.

Creme de Menthe Cheesecake

I love anything that's chocolate and mint flavoured. I especially love using Creme de Menthe because it imparts a delicate mint flavour and a gorgeous colour to anything I make. I find the Tefal Cuisine Companion perfect for making cheesecakes, you can make the cream cheese (recipe can be found by typing cream cheese in the search function) and the chocolate biscuits for this cheesecake as well as crushing the biscuits and mixing the cheesecake mixture in your Tefal Cuisine Companion.

Note: You can add some peppermint essence if you prefer a stronger mint taste.
Note: After combining Creme de Menthe and gelatine keep stirring regurlarly to prevent mixture    from setting. You can place in microwave on low setting for a few seconds if it starts to set and stir until it's at room temperature before adding to cheesecake mixture.

Biscuit base

150 gms Plain Chocolate Biscuits
75 gms Dark Chocolate, melted (I melted in microwave)
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil (I used Canola oil)
Insert Ultrablade. Stopper in.
Crush biscuits using pulse button until done with internal steam basket inserted.
Place biscuit crumbs in separate bowl, add melted chocolate and oil, stir to combine.
Press into base of  20cm springform cake tin (you may not use all the crumb mixture, it depends on how thick you like your biscuit base) and refrigerate.

Cheesecake layer:

70 gms Creme de Menthe
10 gms gelatine powder
250 gms cream cheese softened
395gm condensed milk
300 mls thickened cream
1/4 teaspoon peppermint essence or to taste (optional)
Pour Creme de Menthe into a small heatproof bowl, microwave on medium high until boiling (this will only take a few seconds) remove from microwave and start stirring vigorously with fork, add gelatine quickly and keep stirring until gelatine dissolves. Set aside stirring regularly until cooled to room temperature.
Insert Kneading Blade
Add cream cheese, Speed 11 until smooth, scraping down sides with spatula every 10 seconds.
Add condensed milk, Speed 10 until fully combined, scraping down sides and around blade with spatula every 10 seconds.
Insert Whisk.
Add cream.
Speed 7 for 1 min 30 sec or until mixture thickens, scraping down sides of bowl with spatula every 20 seconds.
Add combined Creme de Menthe and gelatine mixture.
Speed 6 for 15 seconds.
Taste and add peppermint essence if using,
Speed 6 for 5 seconds
Remove whisk, give a light stir with spatula and pour onto biscuit base.
Refrigerate until set.

Decorate as desired.

Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread

The combination of craisins (dried cranberries) and chocolate in these buttery shortbread biscuits is delightful and so easy to make in the Tefal Cuisine Companion. You can chop the craisins in the Mini Bowl using the Pulse function if you like but I would advise to add at least 100 gms of craisins to the mini bowl to chop evenly.  The extra chopped craisins can be stored in a small zip lock bag for future use.

Pre heat oven 160 deg. Line 2 biscuit trays with baking paper.

250 gms Butter slightly softened but firm enough to dice. In hot or humid weather use chilled butter.
50 gms Icing Sugar
250 gms Plain Flour
50 gms Cornflour
1/2 tspn Vanilla Extract
50 gms dried Craisins finely chopped
200 gms Chocolate
Insert Kneading Blade, Stopper in.
Add all ingredients EXCEPT cranberries and chocolate.
Sp10:30sec or until mixture comes together and starts to form a smooth ball. Pulse after 30 sec if necessary.
Pat dough out to 1 cm thick.
Sprinkle chopped cranberries over top of dough and gently press into dough.
Cut out rounds with small cookie cutter and place onto baking paper lined trays.
Bake 160 deg for 10-12 mins or until edges start turning light golden. Leave for 5 mins on baking tray before transferring to cooling racks to cool.
Melt 200 gms chocolate and using a teaspoon or small metal spatula spread evenly over the bottom of each biscuit.  Place biscuits with chocolate side facing up on baking paper lined trays and place in refrigerator until set.