Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Stuffed Mexican Chicken Shells

4 cups chicken breast, cooked and diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
6 green onions, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened (not melted)
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes with chiles, undrained 
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups salsa
40 large pasta shells


Cook pasta shells in well salted, boiling water until al dente (still have a little bite to them- if you cook them too long, they will be difficult to stuff). Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the filling.
For the filling, add diced chicken, drained black beans, green onions, diced peppers, and cumin into a  large mixing bowl. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, chicken broth and undrained tomatoes with chiles. When thoroughly combined, pour it over the chicken mixture and mix well (if you have trouble incorporating the cream cheese and tomatoes, you can heat it slightly in the microwave).
You will need either 2 9x13" baking pans OR one large baking sheet. Spread 3/4 cup salsa in the bottom of each 9x13" baking pan.
Using a spoon, fill each of your cooked pasta shells with chicken mixture, setting them into the salsa-covered pan. Continue until all shells are filled and arranged in the pans.
When the pans are full, drizzle the shells with the remaining 1/2 cup of salsa (1/4 cup per pan) and then sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.
Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad you posted this recipe; I'm going to try it, just with a little less spice. Did you add a mild can of tomatoes & chilies?

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  2. I used Rotel canned tomatoes from Sams, not sure if they were mild or medium. It was on the hot side. This was a new recipe for us. I liked it, again Jared wasn't too impressed., too much liquid for him. So maybe drain the tomatoes a little.

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