Chicken Stuffed Pasta

"It had long since come to my attention that people of

accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them.

They went out and happened to things."

-- Leonardo da Vinci

I have written a few times about Caribou's (coffee shop) savvy marketing devices. Recently I came across an item at the store called Party City that I thought was quite noteworthy. I was shopping for placemats for my daughter's kindergarten class to decorate when I found these coloring placemats- a perfect item for the children. I have posted a picture. What a great idea to have a way to involve kids in your Thanksgiving decorating or for use in the classroom. Party City stores have many locations in the U.S.A.

The recipe posted has a few steps but well worth the time. It would be terrific with a salad and white wine. Leftover turkey from your holiday meal could be substituted for the chicken.

Chicken Stuffed Shells

Laurel’s recipe with some of my own adaptations

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. package of jumbo pasta shells
• 3 large chicken breasts
• 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large package of white mushrooms, lightly cleaned, dried and diced
• 4 cloves of garlic or 2 TB. garlic from a jar
• 2-3 TB. parsley flakes
• 2 TB. dried basil or use fresh basil
• 1 small onion diced
• 4 TB. olive oil
• 1 small head of broccoli cut up into small florets
• pine nuts for garnish

White Sauce

• ½ stick of butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• ¾ can of Swanson’s chicken broth (low sodium)
• 1-1/2 cups whipping cream not whipped
• ¼-1/3 cups dry white wine

Directions:

• Cook chicken breasts with onion @350 for 45 minutes covered, cool and cut into small chunks
• Sauté mushrooms, broccoli with garlic in olive oil
• Add cooled chicken to mushroom mixture and set aside

White sauce

• In saucepan melt butter, add flour and stir until smooth and bubbly,
• Remove from heat and whisk in broth, spices, salt, pepper and whipping cream
• Return to stove on low heat stirring constantly, add Parmesan cheese a cup at a time and heat to boiling and boil only 1 minute watching carefully
• Remove from heat and set aside 1cup white sauce
• Cook jumbo shells till al dente for easier stuffing
• Add 3 TB white sauce to bottom of a 13 x 9 pan
• Add chicken/mushroom, broccoli mixture to white sauce and stuff shells place in pan

Drizzle reserved white sauce on top of shells, cover and bake 20 minutes, remove foil add pine nuts and cook 10 minutes longer

Let set 10 minutes before serving

Makes about 24 shells

Another option would be to use a prepared jar of Alfredo sauce instead of homemade white sauce but it does sacrifice the taste