Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells!

(recipe & photo from The Sister's Cafe)

These shells are absolutely delicious. I like to serve them for company or when I need to take someone dinner and feed my own family at the same time, because this recipe makes a lot. You can also half this if you don't want to make so much.

These shells can be time intensive if you don’t break up the prep work. I like to make the filling the day before and then cook the shells and stuff them the day-of. The recipe makes two 9x13 pans. I always do one 9x13 and two 8x8 pans, and freeze one of the smaller pans for a later dinner. Be sure to buy two boxes of Jumbo Shells for this recipe, as you’ll need nearly 1 1/2 boxes.

Try serving these with the a salad and some yummy rolls or french bread!

Ingredients-

44 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (That’s about one and one-half 12-oz boxes)

2 c chopped cooked chicken

2 c fresh chopped spinach (I only used about 3/4 of a bag of baby spinach)

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese

2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (5oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1 2/3 c.)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 Tb dried parsley flakes

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 (26oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce (any variety)

Cook shells according to package directions (be sure to stir every once in awhile so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan and tear apart); drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease 2 13x9x2inch baking dishes.

In a large bowl, combine chicken and all the rest of the ingredients except mozzarella and spaghetti sauce. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella. Spoon into shells. Spread half of spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dishes. Arrange shells over sauce; top with remaining sauce. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes.

Makes 8-10 servings.