Chicken Stuffed Shells

I'll admit that I was skeptical about this recipe when I first read the rave reviews on my cooking board and I've been holding on making it for months now for two reasons: 1.) I was afraid that chicken in stuffed shells would be dry and I didn't need to add another dry chicken recipe to my repetoire, and 2.) I've never made stuffed shells before because they seemed too time consuming. Well, I was SO wrong on both accounts.
I decided to make this a Sunday night dinner because I figured they'd take more time to make than I am afforded for weeknight dinners. This was true, but really worth the extra couple of minutes, and it would have taken me less time but I made a quick tomato sauce rather than using canned or jarred.

The only changes I made to the recipe is that I used a rostisserie chicken rather than boiling a chicken breast, I made my own sauce, and added a little bit of shredded fontina cheese to the top of the shells before baking.

Kyle and I LOVED these stuffed shells and they will definitely be repeated sometime soon. They are easy to make for a nice weekend meal or fancy enough for a dinner party, and can be made ahead and frozen for another time (which I will be doing the next time I make them).

Chicken Stuffed Shells

(looking for recipe's original source....)

• 15 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 8 ounces cooked chicken
• 1(15 ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 (28 ounce) can low fat marinara sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp parsley
• Parmesan cheese for topping

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spray large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray
3. Cook pasta shells according to directions and drain
4. Boil chicken and shred
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat
6. Combine chicken and garlic, cook for 3-5 minutes
7. Remove from heat and stir in ricotta, breadcrumbs, parsley and salt and pepper to taste
8. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of the baking dish
9. Fill cooked shells with chicken mixture and place filled sides up in baking dish
10. Pour remaining sauce over shells
11. Bake covered with foil for 15-20 minutes, remove foil and continue baking until filling is lightly browned
12. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 4-5