Chicken Spaghetti
Pioneer Woman is a blog I’ve been following for a few years. Ree Drummond has exploded in popularity, written a cookbook and has thousands and thousands of followers. I love the food part of her blog the best. I am incredibly jealous of her photography. And I am amazed that she has the time to home school her kiddos.
Anyway, this recipe for chicken spaghetti comes from her. I changed a few things; omitted the pimientos, added red bell pepper, more onion, more green bell pepper, less cheese and added the Panko bread crumbs for a nice crunchy topping.
Ben and I both really enjoyed this. Ben said it “tasted healthy” and I think he meant that in a good way! While it is not terrible for you, you could make it healthier by using fat-free, reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup, using even less cheese, whole wheat spaghetti noodles, skip the cheese on top and instead top with whole wheat bread crumbs mixed with a teensy bit of butter.
This casserole seems like it would be pretty kid-friendly, but I have not tried it out on any kids so don’t take my word for it! I did not freeze this dish, but baked it right away. Pioneer Woman gives instructions for freezing, which would make this such a great meal to freeze and have on hand for a busy weeknight. If you’re like me and only feeding a household of 2, then this meal could be split between two smaller dishes; one to eat that night and the other to freeze and eat later. I like having stuff like that to use when I have a crazy week.
Chicken Spaghetti
Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman
Ingredients
- 3 – 4 chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds)
- 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
- 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
- 1 ½ cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- ½ cup Finely Diced Green Pepper
- ½ cup Finely Diced Red Pepper
- ½ cup Finely Diced Onion
- 1 ½ – 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
- 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- ⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
- 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- ½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
Directions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil along with some whole peppercorns& kosher salt. If you have some carrot, celery, and onion, add them to the pot as well to make a more flavorful broth.
- Add in chicken breasts and cook for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from water and transfer to a plate to cool.
- If you added veggies to your broth, strain the broth, and add the broth back to the pot and heat to a boil.
- Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook.
- Shred or chop the chicken into small pieces.
- When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.
- Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar and Panko crumbs.
- Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).