A Love Affair with Pasta

There is something truly special and unique about pasta.  I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but for me, pasta exudes a certain kind of comfort.  I find many pasta dishes are comfort foods- whether it's spaghetti and meatballs or fettucine alfredo. When I eat them, they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  Do you feel the same?  What I do know, is that I LOVE pasta and Italian food overall!  Today, I want to share with you, one of my  favorites - Chicken-stuffed Pasta Shells!

First, I cook a whole 3 pound chicken in a large pot of boiling, salted water. 

Once chicken is cooked, I drain the water and allow it to cool.  Then, I remove the skin and bones and shred all the yummy chicken meat.  Next, I throw the shredded chicken in a food processor and pulse 3-5 times.  You will have beautiful ground chicken, that looks and smells delicious! This can be made a day in advance and refrigerated overnight until you are ready to use it.

Next step is to make the tomato sauce.  You will need 3 cups. I like to make my sauce at home, but if you like, you can purchase canned tomato sauce.  However, once you make your own, you will never go back to the canned stuff.  My sauce consists of tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and fresh basil.  This can also be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated over night.  

Now you take your ground chicken and season it.  I use sauteed onion, garlic, parmesan cheese, ricotta, sour cream, parsley, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.  Stir everything until well combined in a large bowl.

Next, grab your package of shells and boil them according to directions on the package.  Once shells are cooked, you can fill them with your mixture.  I use 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture for each shell.  When all the shells are filled, add 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Arrange the shells on top of the sauce and cover with another 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top and cover baking dish with aluminum foil.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes and

VOILA!!

I like to serve this dish with some crusty, cheesy garlic bread and a nice glass of white wine!  Thank you for stopping over.  Hope you can visit again soon!