Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells

Made this tonight for dinner- and holy crap was it delicious. I didn't know exactly how many shells/ how much broccoli and chicken to make so I kind of winged it. I ended up having leftovers of everything - but I'll use it for lunches during the week. So the amounts below filled a 9x13 pan. The alfredo sauce was super easy too. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 box of large shells (for stuffing) cooked al dente (not all the way through)
• 1- 1 1/2 cups of cooked chopped chicken (I used thin chicken breasts seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder- cooked in a skillet with veggie oil and butter until browned- then chopped it up)
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups of steamed broccoli
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 pint of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of cream cheese
• 1 cup grated parm cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella 

To make the alfredo sauce, first in a medium sauce pan melt the butter. Add in the minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat. Add in the heavy cream and cream cheese- and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes then stir in the parm cheese. Whisk constantly or the cheese will stick to the bottom. Reduce heat to low, add salt and pepper to taste. Let thicken for a minute or two then remove from heat.

In a large bowl- combine the broccoli, chicken and about 1/2 cup of the alfredo sauce. 

Spread the tomato sauce or diced tomatoes in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Spoon the filling into the par cooked shells, and arrange in the baking dish until all of the filling is used.

Spoon as much of the extra alfredo sauce on top of the shells as you want - then springing the mozzarella cheese on top evenly. 

Cover with tinfoil- and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Serve with extra alfredo sauce on the side if you want. 

These were freaking awesome (and filling). We had our shells with a nice salad on the side, and have a bunch of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. A new fun way to make stuffed shells. I will definitely be making this again in the future. Cheers! 

Adapted from: pasta alfredo