These were super yummy and were introduced to me by my sister-in-law, Tamara Greenwood, from the six sisters blog. She made them for us after Thomas was born while we, crazy as we are, decided to move to our new house when he was a month old. Pretty awesome sister-in-law!! Anyway, they were super yummy. We liked them with a scoop of guacamole on top. Freezable!
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 (Rotel or store brand)
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 13x9" baking pans OR one large baking sheet. Spread 3/4 cup salsa in the bottom of each 13x9" 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.
*I did have about 1 1/2 cups of the chicken mixture leftover- we just wrapped it up in flour tortillas for lunch the next day and it was delicious!
(I put one pan in the oven to bake for dinner and then wrapped the other uncooked pan with foil and threw it in the freezer for another night. When you are ready to eat it, pull it out of the freezer 24 hours in advance and let it thaw in the fridge. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes)
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 (Rotel or store brand)
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 13x9" baking pans OR one large baking sheet. Spread 3/4 cup salsa in the bottom of each 13x9" 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.
*I did have about 1 1/2 cups of the chicken mixture leftover- we just wrapped it up in flour tortillas for lunch the next day and it was delicious!
(I put one pan in the oven to bake for dinner and then wrapped the other uncooked pan with foil and threw it in the freezer for another night. When you are ready to eat it, pull it out of the freezer 24 hours in advance and let it thaw in the fridge. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes)
