"Boats" (Stuffed Jumbo Pasta Shells)

The music is usually on at our house, but when I make Italian food, I turn on the opera channel.  It's just so much more fun to fling mozzarella when Pavarotti is belting it out..  The kids roll their eyes but I know they secretly like it because they will come up to me with a big expectant smile, "Mom, is it Pasta Night??"

 Affectionately named "Boats" by one of my children because of the shape, this is one of our family's favorite pastas.  The ingredient list is simple, and you probably won't even have to chop anything, but you will get your hands dirty.  The basis for this recipe contributed by my friend Michelle Brown, who certainly knows her way around the kitchen.  Turn up the music!

Boats

Fill a large pot almost half full with water and bring to a boil.  This is for your pasta.  Dump in:
1 large box of Jumbo Shells pasta.  You'll want to boil this about 8 minutes maybe, or until the noodles are al dente (still just a teeny bit tough). 

While the pasta is cooking, make the filling in a medium mixing bowl:

1 cup shredded Mozzarella (finely shredded works a little bit better here, but whatever.  Also, you need to save about another cup out to sprinkle on top when you're done assembling.)
1 jar Alfredo sauce
2-3 cans cooked chicken, drained and flaked apart with a fork (I actually rarely use the canned chicken because, although super easy, it is more expensive.  The canned would be a great option if you are wanting to use your food storage.  If you want to just use 2-3 chicken breasts instead, an easy way is to boil them or saute them, then chop them up fine.  I use my favorite slap-chop tool for this to get it really fine.  Every kitchen needs a slap-chopper!)
1 can mushrooms, finely chopped (Optional.  I only do this about one time out of three.)
Stir until well combined.

By now your pasta should be done.  Drain it and rinse it in a strainer with some cold water so you can handle it comfortably.  You are ready to assemble the casserole.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour half of 1 jar or can of spaghetti in the bottom of a casserole dish.  I like to use a large, round, deep one for most of my casseroles (partly because you use a lot less cheese to top with because there is less surface area), but a 9x13 would work fine and have a shorter cooking time.

Get a tablespoon (soup spoon style, not an actual measuring spoon), scoop up some filling, and scrape it out into each "boat" noodle, kind of tucking the sides of the noodle a little bit closed when you are done (especially if the noodle is ripped.  Ripped still works great, no worries.)  Plop the stuffed noodles onto the bed of sauce in the dish.

(If I was super fancy I would tell you to put all the filling into a pastry bag, or at least a Ziplock with the corner cut off, and squeeze the filling in this way, but the beauty of the jumbo shells instead of manicotti or something is that you can just use a spoon and it goes a lot faster.)

When you are done filling the shells (it's okay if you end up with a few empties, just stir them in with the rest), pour on the other half of the spaghetti sauce and top with about 1 cup mozzarella.  The sauce will leak down into the noodles while it bakes.

Cover and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until cheese is melted and center noodles are hot and melty.  The deep casserole dish will need a longer baking time.  If you like the crunchy noodles and browned cheese effect (I don't particularly) uncover for the last 10 minutes or so.

Serves 6.