A Freezer Full - Stuffed Shells and White Chicken Chili

I think that returning back to work from maternity leave has got me feeling a bit down.  On the one hand I LOVE my job.  I work for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in staff development and training.  I am passionate about the cause and the organization is great to work for.  But leaving Reed makes me sad.

I want to make sure that our evenings with him and spent giving him as much love and attention as we can.  I am hoping we are on the road to a 7:00/7:30ish bed time for him which means Rudy and I can have dinner after we put him down.  To make that easier, I wanted to have some meals already prepared and ready to go.

After lots of cooking over the weekend, I will have the following in my freezer:

• 2 prosciutto and spinach pasta casseroles
• 1 chicken, broccoli and rice casserole
• Stuffed shells
• The BEST ever white chicken chili for two dinners
• 2 chicken, sundried tomato and artichoke pasta casseroles

Wow - that is a lot of food!  For most of these, all we will have to do is put together a quick salad and some bread and we will be good to go for dinner.

To start I wanted to give you the recipes for the Stuffed Shells and the White Chicken Chili.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 14 jumbo pasta shells, cooked according to the directions
• 3 cups cooked chopped spinach (can be fresh or frozen)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive and basil tapenade
• 1/2 cup fat free small curd cottage cheese
• 1/3 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup extra
• 2 cups red pasta sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook shells, saute spinach in olive oil with onions and garlic until onions are tender and fragrant.  Mix spinach and onion mixture with the remainder of the ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.  Spray a baking dish (I used a glass pie pan) and pour 1 cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom of the dish.  Then stuff the shells with the spinach mixture.  Line the dish with the stuffed shells.  Pour the remainder of the sauce over the shells and sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top.  Cook covered at 350 for about 20-30 minutes until bubbly and warm.

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cans shoepeg corn (I use frozen)
2 cans navy beans
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon cumin
1 16 oz can stewed tomatoes
2 cans butter beans (I used frozen baby lima beans)
3 cups chopped cooked chicken

Directions:

Brown garlic and onion in oil, stir in rest of ingredients except for chicken.  Boil and reduce heat, let simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir in chicken.  Simmer until hot.  Can serve garnished with sour cream and tortilla chips or corn muffins.

Enjoy!