This is a hit for football Sundays. For a thicker stuffing, drain ricotta overnight. Serve with ranch and blue cheese dressing for dipping.
Ingredients
- ground chicken: 1 pound
- butter: 0.25 cup
- cayenne pepper sauce (such as Frank's® RedHot®): 1 cup
- whipped ricotta cheese: 1 container (16 ounce container)
- cooking spray:
- jumbo pasta shells: 1 pack (16 ounce pack)
- Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend: 1 pack (8 ounce pack, shredded)
- salt and ground black pepper: (to taste)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground chicken in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease.
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Melt butter in the skillet with the cooked chicken. Stir cayenne pepper sauce into the chicken mixture and remove from heat.
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Squeeze as much moisture from the ricotta cheese using a cheese cloth or paper towels; put drained cheese in a large bowl. Add chicken mixture to the cheese and stir. Refrigerate until completely chilled, 3 to 4 hours.
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Prepare a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
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Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells in the boiling water until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 10 minutes; drain. Rinse with cold water until no longer hot; drain.
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Spoon chicken mixture into cooked pasta shells and arrange into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend over the stuffed shells; season with salt and pepper.
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Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is slightly melted and the stuffing is hot in the middle, 15 to 20 minutes.
