Little Italy

Spicy Butterfly Cornish Hen with Chicken and Crab Stuffed Shells...

The Finale!

It was my little brother's 19th birthday and he was too excited already after waking up to Jay-Z tickets so he had an awesome day. Couldn't complete it without food though. Thought about taking him out but I figured a home cooked meal satisfied the soul much more. I gave him a menu and he chose what he wanted so this was his doing in a sense. I've never made this before but knew it would be easy. I had a hell of a lot of groceries so why spend money when I could cook? Only thing I purchased was the $0.77 shells that I stuffed and $2.76 ricotta cheese. Got an idea from my girl Noms post one day and Pinterest. I had a light bulb! I had random Cornish hens in the freezer so I put em to work!


Cornish hens are sooo easy to prepare it's literally a baby hen. If you can make baked chicken then you can make this. I butterflied the chicken before seasoning. Taking the  knife at the top of the breast and splitting it down to the butt. Don't chop the chicken in half! JUST SPLIT IT sort of like an open heart surgery LOL.

Searing

Seasonings: Jerk (my fave) cumin, rosemary, paprika, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce, lemon, salt. Pan sear the chicken before baking and sear it season side down first before flipping. I sear the chicken until it's almost done then put it in the oven 375 degrees. Before placing it in the oven I turn over the chicken and add tomatoes, spinach, and lemon juice. I made 2 Cornish hens so 375 sufficed. If you're only making one I say 300-350 degrees depending on how crispy you like your chicken.

Chicken and Crab Stuffed Shells

Shells before the oven!

Used half a bag of shells and boiled them with salt and olive oil and cooked to al dente and placed them on a foil sheet to cool and so the noodles won't stick together.

For my stuffing, I sautéed lump crab meat and chicken breast with onions and tomatoes. Chicken and crab were well seasoned then I proceeded to add spinach and garlic. Separately, I used half a container of ricotta cheese which I seasoned with black pepper, salt, Parmesan, and mozzarella. Take 1/2 a teaspoon of the ricotta stuff the shell then take your sautéed chicken and crab and stuff the top. Add a generous amount. Don't be afraid to stuff them, the noodles shouldn't break they're pretty strong. It's common sense don't over stuff. Grab a case of tomato sauce which could be a homemade tomato sauce or your favorite brand. Pour your sauce at the bottom of your pan and place the stuffed shells on top, stuffed side up. Presume using your favorite shredded mozzarella cheese and sprinkle over the top and BAKE! 350-375 degrees is fine since you want the shells a nice brown color and Til the cheese is well melted. To die for :)

Serve dinner with your favorite salad. I love spinach so I use spinach in replace of lettuce. Lettuce is nothing but water ugh I don't care for it. Wine is perfect with this FYI. ENJOY! ^_^