Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Preparing a delicious meal in as little time as possible is always the goal when it comes to weeknight dinners. Everyone is busy and schedules are packed. But that doesn’t mean your dish has to be boring. In fact, you can even jet-set around the world with Italian-inspired meals without ever leaving your table. Are you ready for a trip to Tuscany?

It’s been more than 150 years since Francesco Bertolli began selling his olive oil in the small town of Lucca, Italy. Today, Bertolli® remains at the heart of the Italian-inspired cuisine enjoyed at home by millions of families around the world. Viva Bertolli!

My kids love pasta, spaghetti and lasagna especially. I wanted to do something a little different this time, however. Thus, while at the store, I picked up ingredients I would need for Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells. Chicken, spinach, and mushrooms, too! The rest of the ingredients included Bertolli® Riserva Marinara with Parmigiano-Reggiano, large shells, an egg, and ricotta cheese. Be sure to download your coupon for Bertolli® pasta sauce!

I also used an Italian mix cheese as well as Parmesan. We do love our cheese.

Prepare a pan with a layer of Bertolli® Riserva Marinara with Parmigiano-Reggiano and preheat your oven to 350.

Then, cook and dice the chicken and mushrooms. Defrost the frozen spinach, drain it well, and add that towards the end of the cooking time, just to heat it slightly. Mix an egg, the ricotta and Parmesan. Combine your chicken mixture to it and stuff your shells!

This dish is great to make ahead, too. Simply stop at this step and freeze for up to 24 hours. Or, if you’re ready now, top the Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells with sauce and bake, covered, for about 30 minutes. Uncover and add the Italian cheese mix, baking for about 10 minutes more.

And before you know it, your happy taste buds are on a flavorful trip to Tuscany!

This dinner was such a hit, we’ll definitely have it again. It seems Italy is our new favorite destination.

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Yield: 30 shells

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 box large pasta shells
• 1 15 oz container whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed, drained
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 3 chicken breasts, diced
• 1 jar (23.9 oz) Bertolli Riserva pasta sauce
• 2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
2. Cook chicken and mushrooms until browned. Defrost spinach, squeeze to drain it well, and add it to mixture towards the end of cooking time just to heat.
3. In medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, egg, and Parmesan cheese. Incorporate chicken mixture and combine well.
4. Spread 1 cup of the pasta sauce in bottom of 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Add a large spoonful of chicken mixture into each pasta shell. Arrange shells, filled sides up, on sauce in baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce over stuffed shells.
5. Cover dish with foil and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Italian cheese blend. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

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