TaylorKitchen Dollar General Challenge-Clam Chowder Pasta Bake & Shortcut Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cornmeal Cake

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SOME PASTA, SPAM AND CLAM CHOWDER MADE A WONDERFULLY TASTY DISH

The Dollar General Challenge came about as an off the cuff comment I made to my husband one day when we were in the mountains of North Georgia looking at a lovely property.  There was nothing around for miles.  Nothing that is except a Dollar General.  I made a joking comment that I'm always up for a challenge and I'd consider it a test of my creative abilities to see if I could come up with meals from what we purchased out of that particular Dollar General.


I actually loved that idea so kept asking Tim if he'd go into a Dollar General and buy me some random ingredients from which I'd make our dinner.  I pressed and pressed until finally he agreed. 

TIM PERUSING OUR LOCAL DOLLAR GENERAL FOR MY MYSTERY INGREDIENTS

We left church on a sunny but chilly Sunday morning, ran by the closest Dollar General and I gave Tim the following instructions to shop by.


Buy 5 items total with one being a boxed item, one a canned item and one fresh item if fresh items such as produce were available.  The other items were up to him and I provided absolutely no direction to sway his purchases. 


Now apparently there are fresh items available at select Dollar General's but there were no fresh items at this one so Tim paid for the 5 goodies he procured for me and we headed home.


If you've ever watched "Chopped" on the Foodnetwork, I excitedly looked forward to this random DG basket like a child opening a Christmas gift,  Yep, I'm an odd one.
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THESE WERE THE 5 RANDOM ITEMS TIM PICKED FOR ME. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THEM?

With the 5 items that Tim picked up for me I received:
1 pound box of rotini pasta
1 box cornmeal mix
1 can of clam chowder 
1 jar of pepperoncini peppers
1 can of SPAM 

What would you do with this interesting  combination of ingredients?

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I immediately thought the clam chowder would be my creamy binder for a pasta bake.  Although never having cooked with SPAM, I did try it while in Hawaii so knew it could lend a smoky, salty element similar to bacon.  Bacon and clams go together so there was a start. The Pepperoncini was the odd man out but a bit of heat is never a bad thing so I actually pulled in some of that in both the pasta bake and in the cornmeal mix that I utilized to make a dessert like cake. 

MY CORNMEAL CAKE OUT OF THE OVEN

That encompassed the use of everything and with ingredients I already hand on hand such as basic olive oil, breadcrumbs and cheese, a handful of leftover raspberries, and chocolate chips we were off to the races.


I must say we were so pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  A lovely meal with the main ingredients coming from the Dollar General.  All coming in a $8.00 and change even in this era of escalating food prices.

YOU CAN SEE THE FLECKS OF RASPBERRY. SO GOOD.

The clam chowder pasta bake is creamy and comforting and very reminiscent of an amped up tuna noodle casserole.    A wee bit of heat from the pepperoncini was still incredibly subtle.  The difference is that this has clams instead of tuna and there are bits of potato thanks to the chowder.


The raspberry chocolate cornmeal cake is a riff off of my miso blackberry cornmeal cake, but to this I added a handful of raspberries from my fridge and again some chopped pepperoncini to add a slight heat which is really intriguing with the sweet yet tart raspberries and bits of chocolate.  I actually love a cornmeal cake.  It has lovely texture from the cornmeal and baking it in an iron skillet makes for a gorgeous homey presentation.  When eaten warm the chocolate bits are melty and so wonderful with the vibrant raspberry gems.

Some of my favorite affiliate items used in this recipe.

Clam Chowder Pasta Bake​

Preheat oven to 400 degrees 


8 ounces rotini pasta, cooked according to package directions and set aside (gluten free if you want)
6 ounces (1/2 can) SPAM, cut into small cubes (or you can use smoked ham)
1 can Campbell's Chunky Clam Chowder 
1/2 red or yellow onion, chopped finely
2-3 pepperoncini, chopped finely
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small handful flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped (optional)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (freshly ground is best)


Topping
1/2 cup shredded cheese.  I had a goat's milk cheddar on hand to that's what I used.
1/.4 cup seasoned or plain breadcrumbs
More olive oil to drizzle over the top which will assist in browning of the breadcrumbs


In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, SPAM, onion and pepperoncini and saute until the SPAM has crisped up and browned slightly and the onion is translucent, about 7-8 minutes.  Add the parsley and pepper and stir together.


In a larger mixing bowl place the sauted SPAM and onion mixture and pasta.  Mix together then add the can of clam chowder and mix well.
Place in a buttered 2 1/2 quart (2.3 L)  casserole dish.
Top with the cheese, then bread crumbs if using.  Drizzle with olive oil.
Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly.

Raspberry Chocolate Cornmeal Cake with Pepperoncini


Preheat oven to 400 degrees


1 package cornmeal mix (such as Jiffy)
1 egg. (I am loving Vital Farms Pasture Raised eggs)
1/3 cup milk (I used almond milk but buttermilk would be great here too)
1-2 pepperoncini (chopped finely)
1/4 cup raspberries
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Whipped cream for serving (optional)


Whisk cornmeal mix with the egg and milk in a large mixing bowl.  Gently stir in raspberries, chocolate chips and pepperoncini if using.


Pour the mixture into a 10 inchiron skillet, available on our SHOP page or other baking pan that you've sprayed with cooking spray.  (If your iron skillet is used regularly you won't need to spray it).  Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until the cake is just set in the middle but barely golden.  Cut into wedges and serve with whipped cream if desired.  If you have additional raspberries, feel free to scatter some over the slices.