Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells with Blue Cheese

You can probably look forward to seeing me post quite a few recipes adapted from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Inspired Taste. Inspired Taste is a cooking blog ran by Adam and Joanne who are a cute couple that enjoy cooking together ^_^ They have such a variety of delicious recipes in which I've been on a personal mission to try. What I love most is that all the recipes are pretty simple and I've found that most of them are variety dishes that can be made over and over again with different ingredients. Gotta love the versatility!

They introduced a few recipes for stuffed shells and I've tried a few of them and have fallen in absolute awe! One of their most recent shell recipes is the Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells. It makes a great party dish and I have paired them with wings and alone.

Directions:

First boil the pasta shells in a large boiler according to the directions on the box. Once cooked, drain and set aside in a bowl of cold ice water. Now let's add a little olive oil and brown the ground chicken over medium heat in a large skillet. 

Add some garlic powder. 

Throw in some diced celery and cook until slightly tender.

Mix in some Frank's Buffalo Sauce. 

Add the ricotta cheese. 

Mix in a few blue cheese crumbles.

Now add the parsley. 

Stuff each shell with a spoonful of filling and place in a lightly greased glass baking dish. Cook in oven for about 25 minutes or until shells become lightly crisp and the cheese has melted. Then you're ready to serve! 

Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 40 mins | Total Time: 45 mins | Serves: 4

Ingredients:
16 large pasta shells

1 pound ground chicken
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup diced celery
6-8 tablespoons Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 °. Bring a large pot of water to a boil then cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain cooked shells then add to a large bowl of ice water until ready to fill. Next add olive oil to a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add ground chicken and use a spoon to break the chicken apart, cook 5-8 minutes until brown. Add garlic powder and celery and cook another 3-4 minutes until tender. Remove pan from the heat then stir in wing sauce, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of blue cheese crumbles and parsley. Taste for seasoning, add salt if necessary.Use a spoon to fill each pasta shell then arrange shells in a baking dish. Sprinkle tops with 2 tablespoons of blue cheese then bake in the oven 25 minutes until cheese has melted and tips of shells begin to crisp and brown.

Notes:
Transferring the cooked shells to a separate bowl is optional. If you cook it in a large enough boiler pot you can simply remove the hot water, drain the shells and add cold icy water to the boiler.
Recipe adapted from Inspired Taste. 

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Baked Italian Chicken Pasta with Spinach

Lately I've been into experimenting with pastas. What I love about pasta is that you can be as unique as you want, mixing different ingredients and still end up with a brilliant, flavorful dish. I'm beginning to see sort of a pattern with my usage of spinach because I tend to put it in pretty much anything lol and that's ok! I actually got the idea for this dish from a friend and decided to put my own spin on it. I like to think of it as the "unstuffed shell". If you've ever had stuffed shells then you'll know what I'm referring to. I plan to share my stuffed shell recipe with you soon but until then I hope you enjoy my little easy to mix and bake concoction ^_^

Directions:

First you'll need a box of penne pasta, put it in a large boiler and cook according to the directions on the box.

Next, ground 1lb of ground chicken over medium to high heat in a large skillet.

Once completely browned, season with chicken chili seasoning. I use a box of chicken chili mix found at my local grocery store. Stir in, ensuring to coat every piece of the chicken.

Then add half a bottle of tomato sauce to the chicken. I use an Italian Sausage and Garlic sauce by Prego. Mix and bring to a light boil then reduce heat.

Now drain thawed frozen spinach and squeeze out any excess water. You don't want it to be overly drenched before adding to the dish.

Then add the spinach to the chicken and tomato sauce, heat and stir thoroughly. Turn off heat and add ricotta cheese. I use a 15 oz. (medium) container of original ricotta by Polly-O. Mix well.

Now transfer the chicken mixture to the boiler you set aside earlier with the penne pasta and mix thoroughly. Then add the remaining tomato sauce on top of the mixture and stir in. 

Transfer to a large greased or foiled baking dish and top with shredded cheese. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. Then serve.

Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Total Time: 35 mins  | Serves: 5-8

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil (optional)
1 1lb box penne pasta
1 large bottle tomato sauce
1 bag frozen chopped spinach (or fresh)
1 15oz. container ricotta cheese (medium sized)
1lb ground chicken
1 8oz bag sharp shredded cheese
2lb box of chicken chili mix (or season all)

Method:
Boil box of penne pasta, cook according to the directions on the box, drain, then return to boiler and sit aside. Brown 1lb of ground chicken over medium heat in a large skillet. Add chicken chili seasoning pack and stir to evenly coat the meat. Add half a bottle of tomato sauce, mix well and bring to boil. Add frozen spinach and ricotta cheese, mix well and turn off heat. Combine the chicken and spinach mixture to the boiler you set aside and mix thoroughly into penne pasta. Add the remaining tomato sauce. Transfer to a greased or foiled cooking dish and top with shredded cheese. Bake in the oven at 350° for about 25-30 minutes until the cheese has fully melted and the sauce starts to bubble.

Notes: 
I've made this pasta a couple of times and from my experience it dries out and loses flavor after baking if you don't use an abundant amount of tomato sauce. My directions suggest 1 large bottle of tomato sauce but you can very well use more, you can use your own judgment in the future based on taste after you've tried it. As for the ground chicken, unlike ground beef it doesn't really produce a lot of oil while browning. So you can use olive oil to assist you with browning the meat faster. A helpful tip when sitting the pasta aside, to prevent the noodles from sticking together (from the heat) you can leave or pour a little water over them. I use a chicken chili kit to season the ground chicken, the pack comes with flour, salt, cayenne pepper, and seasoning. I only use the seasoning and the cayenne pepper (optional). You can season the chicken however you prefer, season all or nothing at all ;o) Also, make sure you thaw out the frozen spinach a day before or a few hours prior to use.

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