Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

I found this on pinterest and my family really enjoyed it. The pasta was a bit crunchy, but we are going to try to fix that.

1 pkg. jumbo pasta shells
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. parmesan (freshly grated works best) + 1/4 c. for topping
1/4 c. pesto
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil and prepare pasta shells as directed on package. Drain pasta and set aside.

In a bowl combine the rest of ingredients (except 1/4 cheese for topping). Fill the pasta shells with the mixture (about a tablespoon each shell) and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake for about 30 minutes. It says uncovered, but that made ours crunchy, so next time I am gonna try to cover it and see what it does.

I don't really like pesto (Shh, don't tell Andy) and I really liked this dish.

Pesto Cavatoppi

My husband actually just posted this on his blog. I wanted all our recipes together, so here it is on this blog. All of my kids love it, even Luke who doesn't eat dinner. (He had 3 helpings tonight.)

Pesto Cavatappi

Olive oil

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 c. diced tomatoes

16 oz. cavatappi noodles, cooked and drained

3 T. cream (we use whipping cream)

1/2 c. pesto sauce

salt

parmesan cheese

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. lightly cover the bottom of the skillet with olive oil. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes. (Add the tomatoes after you saute the mushrooms a bit or they kind of dissolve and all you are left with is skin.)

Add cavatappi, cream and pesto sauce. Mix thoroughly. Add salt and parmesan to taste (though we add about 1 t. of salt and around 1 T. to 2 T. of parmesan).

*These are all approximations, so add and take away as needed.

Artichoke Pasta

Sorry the photo looks so gross, I think it is the color of the plate in the background.

Artichoke Pasta

2 T. lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1/4 c. butter (or margarine)

1/4 c. olive oil

1 pkg. linguine

1 jar (about 1 c.) sun dried tomatoes (drained)

1 jar (13. oz) artichoke hearts (cut to bite size)

1 small can sliced olives

Slowly heat olive oil and butter in skillet to medium hot. Add lemon juice and garlic. Add artichoke hearts with juices, stirring until tender. Add sun dried tomatoes stirring until tender. Pour over pasta. Add olives. Serve immediately.

(I added parmesan cheese to the top. My kids picked it all out and just ate the pasta. Except Anneke. She ate the olives. Must be a Bailey, huh? Anyway, I liked it.) I got the recipe here and tweaked it slightly.