Chicken and Pesto Stuffed Pasta Shells

HOLY.COW.


Chicken. Pesto. Cheese. Pasta. Cheese.


Need I say more??


I got this recipe from onceamonthmom.com but adjusted it to my liking~


It called for the pasta shells to be carefully stuffed and then set nicely into a casserole dish to then be baked....and although that seems AWESOME...I don't have time to be stuffing 16 pasta shells. 


No thank you!


Well...ok, I wasn't exactly truthful about my reasons for changing the recipe. I did have the time. I just wasn't using it wisely. I got really into an episode of The Office and forgot about the pasta shells. 


They were pretty much mush by the time Robert asked me when dinner was going to be ready.


OOPS.


So, I dumped them into a casserole dish lined with pesto (store-bought) and cooked a few handfuls of penne pasta to fill the dish.


I then mixed all of the other ingredients and dumped them on top of the pasta shells. Then I added CHEESE. LOTS AND LOTS OF CHEESE. Problem solved :) and I'm so proud!


Recipe: (derived from onceamonthmom.com)


6 Jumbo Pasta Shells (I used about 12 for the big eaters in my family and about a handful of penne pasta)


4 oz. fat free cream cheese


12 T Pesto (divided in half)


4 cooked chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces


Mozzarella Cheese (depends how much you want...I used about 8 oz.)


Parmesean Cheese (same as above)


4 cloves of garlic


Salt and Pepper


The How To:


Boil the pasta shells according to package directions and set aside (REMEMBER that you should NOT cook the pasta for an entire OFFICE episode)


Combine half of the cheese, 6 oz. pesto, chicken, garlic, and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. I also added some basil, parsley, and salt and pepper.


You have two options at this point. You can either a) take your sweet little time stuffing those cute little shells with the mixture that you have just made or b) you can dump the mixture on top of the pasta and then cover everything with the remainder of cheese....choose your PRIORITIES...


Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


Here's what mine looks like....Don't you Wish you HAD SOME!! I'll save you some left-overs...if there are any~

The Results:


Oh.My.Goodness. 


You have GOT to try this recipe!! My husband has eaten two servings tonight. 


And he's taking more to work. 


I would call this a SUCCESS!