8/07/2010

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti

I first saw this recipe in a magazine and wanted to try it right away. I have since gotten the cookbook and let me tell you: If you do not have The Pioneer Woman Cooks, RUN to the store and get it right! now! I'll wait... My mother-in-law makes Chicken Spaghetti and gave me her recipe. I made it once and nearly died from the effort. It is delicious but a lot of work. Ree's recipe is simpler and all of us like it very much. I made it last night for guests and it went over very well. There are a few changes to make it Chaos-friendly so I though I would post the differences.
The Ingredients:
1 cooked chicken
1 pound spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
1 (4 oz) jar of pimientos, drained
1 small onion
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 1/2 cups grated cheese, divided
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/8 to 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper to taste

I didn't take a lot of pictures when I made this last night. Partly because I was in a hurry and didn't have my helper (Raley usually takes my pics but he was busy cleaning his room) and partly because the pictures in Ree's cookbook are so beautiful, I could never compare.
In her recipe, she tells you how to cook a cut-up fryer and reserve the broth to cook the noodles in. I use a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket and chicken bouillon cubes for the broth. Just saves a little time. While the noodles are cooking, skin and de-bone the chicken and shred the meat into bite size pieces. After the spaghetti is cooked al dente, drain it and place the noodles in a large bowl. Add the cream of mushroom soup and 2 cups of the grated cheese (Ree uses cheddar but I prefer Colby Jack). Add the onion, green pepper and pimientos (I don't care too much for pimientos so I only use a 2 ounce jar). Throw in the seasoned salt, black pepper and cayenne. I am a spice wimp so I use only about 1/8 tsp of cayenne. Plus I was serving to kids so I didn't get it overly hot. Finally add the chicken and the broth. Stir it all together until well mixed. Pour into a 9 x 13 (at least) baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 45 minutes until bubbly. This fed four adults, 4 kids and we had about half of it leftover for future lunches this week. I usually freeze a serving or two as well.
We served it with a green salad and a loaf of french bread. When the chicken spaghetti came out of the oven, I covered it in foil while the bread cooked. When the bread was done I coated it with a mix of melted butter and garlic salt. I will do that every time I make bread now!! For dessert we had this deliciousness, but youll have to click to see!

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE that recipe but I also had to tweek it for us! ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fran,thanks for following my blog! and this spaghetti is a family fave around here...yours looks fabulous!!!

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