Mexican Chicken Stuffed Shells

Personally, I love Mexican food. And pasta. And chicken. So when I came across a recipe for Mexican chicken stuffed shells, I knew it was something I'd have to try for myself. The recipe on Pinterest makes approximately 12-15 servings, so I ended up making this for my family for dinner one night. And boy did it make plenty. 

The recipe turned out to be pretty delicious, and I thought it tasted even better when I had some for leftovers the next day. 

I made a few changes when I made my version of the stuffed shells. I only used green peppers, and a smaller amount than was called for because my family didn't care for them. I also only used two blocks of cream cheese, and personally I think it would've been too much to have three blocks because the shells still tasted very cream cheesy (yes, I just made to up my own phrase for to say that.) I only used plain diced tomatoes as well. This recipe can be easily adapted to put in or take out whatever Mexican ingredients you do or don't like. 

I had some trouble mixing the cream cheese, chicken stock, and tomatoes together. I would definitely suggest using the microwave to heat the cream cheese slightly before putting in the other ingredients, and using a hand mixer to blend the ingredients together.

Just be warned, the recipe as is does make a lot, so if you have a smaller family and don't want leftovers I would cut the ingredients in half. And a regular size box of large shells contains approximately 40 shells, so that does contain enough for the recipe.

My version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cups of chicken, cooked and cubed

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

8 green onions, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 (8 oz.) blocks of cream cheese

2 cans of diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup of chicken stock or chicken broth

2 tsp cumin

2 cups of Mexican cheese mix

1 cup of picante sauce

1 (16 oz.) box of large pasta shells, cooked al dente

Recipe:

Cook, drain and dice four cups of chicken (I baked my chicken in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 35 minutes.) Cook pasta shells in well salted, boiling water until al dente (approximately 10 minutes, consult the box for specific times.) Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the filling. To make the filling, mix diced chicken, drained black beans, green onions, diced peppers, and cumin in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, chicken stock/broth and undrained tomatoes. Once well mixed, pour it over the chicken mixture and mix again. Spread 3/4 c. picante sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan. Fill each of your cooked and cooled pasta shells, setting them into the picante covered pan. Continue until all shells are filled and arranged in the pan. When the pan is full, drizzle the shells with the remaining 1/4 cup of picante and then sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese. Feel free to add as much cheese as you like during this step- for my family, the more the merrier! Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minute. Enjoy!

If you are looking for a new Mexican recipe favorite, these Mexican Chicken Stuffed Shells are definitely the way to go!

And here's a link to the original Mexican Chicken Stuffed Shells recipe as well!

http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/368043905/mexican-chicken-stuffed-shells/