Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
I was looking up the name of a pasta shape one night so The Mr could pick it up at the store for me. I was quickly distracted by jumbo shells. They weren’t my reason for looking at pasta, but I’m glad I saw them. I had one of those lightbulb moments, an idea just hit me. I had to have them so I could stuff them with buffalo chicken. I’ve never wanted pasta more in my life.
It took me a bit to decide how I wanted to make them. They needed to have the traditional key points; chicken, buffalo sauce and celery. Even down to the last minute I was switching things up. I kept my fingers tightly crossed hoping the experiment would pay off and they’d be loved. It was a success. Not only did The Mr love them but so did our 2 year old.
The shells are stuffed with a creamy buffalo chicken mixture, drizzled with buffalo sauce and a sprinkling of shredded cheese, then baked to perfection.
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 C chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/8 tsp ground black pepper divided
- 3/8 tsp celery seed divided
- 1/4 C buffalo sauce plus additional for topping
- 1/4 C celery chopped
- 1/4 C yellow onion chopped
- 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
- 12-15 jumbo shells
- 1 C ricotta cheese
- 3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 C blue cheese crumbles
- 1/4 C mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a small slow cooker, add chicken and broth. Cook for 2 hours on high, then shred meat. Discard liquid. Alternately simmer chicken and broth in a saucepan until chicken is heated through and no longer pink. Season shredded meat with salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp celery seed. Toss with buffalo sauce until meat is evenly coated. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large saucepan bring water to a boil, add 12-15 jumbo shells. Cook for 9 minutes. Drain and let cool on a baking sheet or nonstick surface.
- In a small skillet over medium heat, add chopped onion, celery and butter (or olive oil). Cook until tender and onions are translucent. Transfer to a small bowl.
- In a large bowl, mix ricotta cheese, parmesan, egg, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/8 tsp celery seed, blue cheese crumbles and vegetables. Add chicken mixture and stir well.
- Prepare a small baking dish with a light coating of olive oil and a few spoonfuls of buffalo sauce. Fill one shell at a time with spoonfuls of chicken and cheese mixture. Carefully arrange in prepared baking dish. Drizzle with spoonfuls of buffalo sauce and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
For the giveaway…
**Giveaway is now closed**
As promised, as a thank you for helping me reach and quickly surpass 750 fans on Facebook I’m doing a giveaway. This little corner of mine is so much more special because of each of you.
I’m giving away one 6Qt Crock-Pot® Designer Series Smart-Pot to one lucky reader.
The nitty gritty: You must have a US shipping address to enter. Giveaway will run from Jan 10, 2012 – Jan 15, 2012 (midnight EST). One winner will be randomly chosen and contacted via e-mail Jan 16, 2012. Winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Main entry must be done or bonus entries will not count. Duplicate entries will be deleted.
Main entry (required):
In the comments section of this post, answer this question: what is the first thing you would make in your new slow cooker?
Bonus entry options: You may do each of the following once. If you already do any of them it still counts but you must tell me you do. Leave a separate comment for each entry.
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Giveaway sponsored by Baked by Rachel (or me). :)
