I have so much fun on Pinterest I decided to start making one thing I pin each week and post about it. Today I chose What's Cookin Chicago's Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells.
Of course it's the photos that always attract me first when I am pinning ,and this was no exception. It looked delicious, and I had all the ingredients on hand. I threw it together in minutes, as I had pesto in the freezer from some I had made this summer, and leftover chicken. The only change I made was to add some panko bread crumbs on top, as she suggested she would do next time she made it.
This is one more thing I'm glad I pinned and tried...it was wonderful!
Pesto chicken stuffed shells
whats cookin chicago
16 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus 1/4 cup for topping
3 tablespoons prepared pesto
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients and stuff into the cooked jumbo shells. Sprinkle with the 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 uncovered 30 minutes until bubbly.
I saw this recipe too, but have not made it. I'm glad to know you like it, now I'll try it!
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of trying an item a week and blogging about it - might have to give it a try!
ReplyDeleteThat does look good! Will have to add that to the list of going to make. My husband knows every new dish I make for him comes from pinterest!! Great idea!!
ReplyDeleteWow these sound delicious! I'll definitely be trying these soon. :)
ReplyDeleteI made this recipe last summer for my meal exchange group. It's delicious and freezes beautifully!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of trying out a pin a week! I am on Pinterest everyday and pin so many food things. I may just have to try that out too. The shells look delicious!
ReplyDeleteThat really does sound delicious, and I love that it's also easy :)
ReplyDeleteI really love creamy pasta!
ReplyDeleteI will definitely try this recipe.. your pictures look really appealing! Mmmm~
Bake at what temp?
ReplyDeleteI made this recipe tonight, but the shells were extremely hard. Almost too hard to eat. I fully cooked the shells before baking, any suggestions ?
ReplyDeleteDid you use a covered dish to bake the shells in or cover them with foil? This helps keep the moisture in and then they don't dry out and get hard.
DeleteThe recipe says to bake UNcovered, but mine also came out very hard in places. About half way through baking I realized they were going to get hard and I poured a little milk overtop of them. I would cover them next time. Or pour pasta sauce overtop. (I added pasta sauce to my leftovers) Overall though: DELICIOUS!!!
ReplyDeleteI made this for Valentines day and neither my fiance or I liked this. The shells became hard and dry and I even took the advice of others and added a little bit of milk and covered it while it cooked. Another thing I did not like was the pesto was very over powering in taste. I will not be making this item again.
ReplyDeleteJust made it. My 14 yr old daughter and I loved the flavor, but also had trouble with hardened shells. I will definitely do this again but will boil shells a little longer and leave some of the pasta water in the bottom. Also wonder if ricotta cheese mixed in to the cream cheese mixture would moisten it up a little. We liked flavor enough to where I'll play with it. It certainly was easy enough. I boiled 6 chicken tenders while noodles were boiling and was able to shred chicken easily and add it to mixture just in time to drain the noodles. EASY!
ReplyDeleteGiven the comments about dryness, I added some Greek yogurt, a little bit of milk, and some fresh spinach. I also decreased the amount of parm cheese used, as that tends to dry recipes out. I cooked it covered, except for the last five minutes and it was delicious! Very moist.
ReplyDeleteTaking everyone's comments into consideration, I added a bit of greek yogurt to the mixture, and then I put a tablespoon of the pesto into Newmans Own Alfredo Sauce, with more greek yogurt, and put a layer of it on the bottom of the pan. I loaded up the shells, and put the remaining sauce over the top with the parmesan, and a sprinkle of Italian Seasoning. Yum. Thanks for the recipe! Love the blog.
ReplyDeleteThis was AMAZING! My husband is such a picky eater and he had three servings!!! After reading the other comments, I did not put them in the oven. I boiled the chicken in chicken stock and after shredding it and mixing all of the filling ingredients together, I waited for the pasta to be done cooking, as soon as they were drained I filled them up and served them. This was amazing I loved it. Thank you so much for this recipe!
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I made this together tonight. we mixed bread crumbs in with the parmesan cheese to go on top and baked it for 20 minutes. His best friend who is our room mate says we have to serve this at our wedding.they were delicious the shells weren't hard but I had them close together in the pan.
ReplyDeleteI am making tonight with just one modification. I put about half a jar of marinara on the bottom of the casserole dish, placed the filed shells, and covered with the remaining marinara and additional cheese... I made a double batch, one for a friend and o e for my family... It's in the oven now and smells delish! I can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteI am in love with these. Made them for the 4th time last night!!
ReplyDeleteThanks I will try, maybe add mushrooms also.
ReplyDeleteYep. Delicious but shells are hard. Wish I would have read comments first. But I will make modifications next time! Overall thumbs up!
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