Three Cheese & Chicken Stuffed Shells

I have to admit – I’ve been in a bit of a cooking/food blogging slump lately. I’ve continued to post mainly because I have so much to post about, but it just hasn’t been all that exciting for me. But on Sunday, my motivation returned when my mother-in-law brought by these:
I guess her cousin’s mother-in-law was a cookbook collector. She died a few years ago, but her husband just died and the family is clearing out the house. And even though I don’t know any of these people, my mother-in-law brought these over to me! I guess there were hundreds of cookbooks, but most were quite old and not in the best shape. Truth be told, I would have taken them all (although I’m not sure my husband would be happy with the house being taken over by cookbooks!) but my MIL had them pick out the newest books that were in the best condition. Some of these actually look like they have never even been cooked from before!

So now that my motivation has returned, I just may start to post more often. (I say this now, but with a 4 month old daughter, you never know how the day is going to go!)

This stuffed shell recipe is based off of a manicotti recipe that I made a few years ago. I had a half of a box of shells in my pantry that I really needed to use up. My husband claims that he doesn’t like the big shells – which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me because it tastes the same as other pastas, just a different size! But it all worked out well, and we finished off the dish in a couple of days. I added in the chicken, but this could easily be made vegetarian by leaving that out.

Three Cheese & Chicken Stuffed Shells
adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 4

6 ounces large shell pasta
1 chicken breast half, cooked and diced
8 ounces ricotta cheese
3 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
3 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 tablespoon sour cream
3 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water, then add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, ricotta cheese, 2 ounces of mozzarella cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, bread crumbs, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray and cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce. Fill each large shell with the chicken/cheese mixture and place in the dish. Cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake in the preheated oven uncovered for 40 minutes; serve warm.

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