Chicken Stuffed Shells

Chicken Stuffed Shells

Last night's dinner was pulled out deep from my archives! It's a creamy combination of chicken and ricotta cheese stuffed into shells and baked with fresh tomato sauce. Grinding the sauted chicken breasts (in white wine) really brings out an amazing flavor. I must confess - I bought the cheap ricotta cheese and it was definitely a mistake. Do not skimp on good ricotta cheese - there really is a difference! Good ricotta cheese should be creamy, not gritty. I prefer Maggio's brand but you could certainly use Sorrento. And if you happen to be counting calories...(that would be us!) each shell only has 170 calories (including the sauce) and 3 makes a perfect serving. If I wasn't counting calories, I like to drizzle a parmesean cream sauce over the tomato sauce for a beautiful presentation. This is a perfect 'do ahead' meal and also makes great leftovers! This recipe makes 14 stuffed shells that I divided into 2 pans. For a great home made tomato sauce, refer to my 'Spaghetti and Meatballs' entry or if you must, use your favorite jar sauce.

origin - lisa lou
difficulty - medium
health meter - medium, relatively low in calories

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup white wine (remember, if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it!)
1/2 vidalia onion finely chopped (yellow onions work fine too)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 - 1 cup finely grated parmesean cheese
1 egg
1 handful fresh parsley finely chopped (just eliminate if you don't have fresh)
1 tbsp italian seasoning blend (or combination of oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram)
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
salt/pepper to taste
16 pasta shells - cooked according to package directions, but do not overcook as they will continue cooking when the stuffed shells are baked.
2 cups of preferred tomato sauce

Saute the chicken breasts in the olive oil over medium high heat just until nicely browned on both sides. Add the wine to the pan and cover until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and cut into 1 inch chunks. Add the onion to the same pan and saute until softened about 4 minutes. Set onion aside in a medium size mixing bowl. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, put in a food processor and pulse until the chicken is ground. Place chicken in the mixing bowl with onion and add remaining ingredients. Mix until combined. Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings to your liking. Next stuff each shell with approximately 2 tbsp of the mixture and place in a greased (with olive oil) glass pan. Glass pans tend to cook more evenly than metal. If you plan to use immediately, pour tomato sauce over and cover with tinfoil. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes, removing the foil at the last 5 minutes of baking. If you plan to serve later, cover the shells without the sauce and refrigerate until ready to use (you could do this 2-3 days in advance). Top finished shells with freshly grated parmesean cheese and serve.