Fennel and Pear Chicken Thighs

Fennel and Pear Chicken Thighs

ingredients

1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
2 6- to 7-ounce jars (drained weight) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup coarsely snipped dried pears
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, finely ground
2-1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 cup pear nectar or apple juice
Hot cooked couscous or rice
Fennel tops (optional)

directions

In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, combine sliced fennel, mushrooms, and dried pears. Sprinkle with tapioca. Add chicken thighs; sprinkle with salt, thyme, and pepper. Pour pear nectar over mixture in cooker.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours.
Serve chicken mixture with hot cooked couscous. If desired, garnish with fennel tops. Makes 6 servings.

Stuffed Shells

I always see these big pasta shells at Sprouts and think "I should make stuffed shells one day." Today was that "one day". And BOY will I make them again! They were YUMMY and actually a lot easier than I thought they would be. I looked at several recipes and the comments for the recipes and then tweaked it all to my liking. Here's the two main recipes I looked at and what I finally did:

4 Cheese Stuffed Shells by Rachael Ray and No Mess or Stress Stuffed Shells by Sandra Lee
ummm.... just for the record, the Sandra Lee recipe seemed like A LOT more mess and stress than it could have been. It took longer and I could not find anywhere raw, pre-seasoned meatballs. Maybe I'll look for Italian sausage in bulk and use that recipe using the sausage. Anywho, I digress...

Here's what I did:

Box of Jumbo Shells -- boil them in salted water for about 7 or 8 minutes. You want them flexible enough that you can stuff them but still undercooked (they'll finish cooking in the oven). Drain and shock them in an ice bath or run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

Jar of favorite pasta sauce (I used a garlic one...yummm) and add in a can of drained diced tomatoes (to make it a little more chunky). Simmer over low heat while you cook and stuff the shells.

Stuffing -- while the pasta is cooking, get your stuffing made. Mix together:
Ricotta Cheese (12 oz)
Mozzarella Cheese (one 8oz ball diced or a container of shredded)
Asiago Cheese (shredded - 5 oz container)
Parm Cheese (shredded - 5 oz container)
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley (or half the amount of dried parsley)

Once your shells are ready to be stuffed, use a spoon (or your hands) to fill the shells.

Layer everything in a baking dish:
Put down a layer of sauce, then a layer of the stuffed shells, then a layer of sauce, then of parm or mozzarella cheese, then more shells, sauce, some fresh basil and top it off with one more layer of cheese. (sidenote-- cheese, pasta, sauce.....seriously, how could this go wrong?) Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. Uncover and broil for another several minutes until cheese is bubbly and browning. Yum!

***This serves 4-6 (depending on your size of baking dish and if you are able to use all the shells or not) and is great with a Cesar salad and garlic bread. I had leftover stuffing mixture and some leftover shells. Just FYI. :)

Feel free to tweak the recipe as much as you want. A lot of people use one egg in the stuffing mixture to make it a little more binding. Use some different cheeses or add things to the stuffing like basil or spinach..... the sky is the limit! Have fun and happy cooking! :)