Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. When I first looked through the cookbook, I knew I had to try this recipe because the pictures of it just made my mouth water for some reason. Then, I read through the ingredients, saw that it asked for a cut up fryer chicken, and got scared away for a couple months. I just kept coming back to it for some reason, though, so I finally bit the bullet one day and did it. And boy am I glad I did! It was so yummy!

Working with the fryer chicken was a little yucky (so much of it isn't edible!!), but I figured I'd give it a try. The result is very tasty since it's not just white meat.

Chicken Spaghetti

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

1 cut up fryer chicken

1 lb. spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces

1 jar (4 oz) diced pimientos, drained

1 small onion

1/4 c. finely diced green bell pepper

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup

2 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

1 t. seasoned salt (Lawry's)

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place fryer chicken into a stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for about 25 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot with tongs or a slotted spoon, keeping the water in the pot. Set chicken aside to cool.

Remove 2 cups of the water (now broth) and set aside. Bring the rest of the water back to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain spaghetti and discard remaining water.

Remove chicken from the bones and shred or cut into bite sized pieces. I found this easiest to do with my fingers.

Drain the pimientos, finely dice the onion and the bell pepper. Place the spaghetti, cream of mushroom soup, and 2 cups of the cheese in a large bowl. Add the pimientos, onion, and bell pepper. Then, add the seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Last, add the chicken and the reserved broth. Stir together well and adjust spices if needed.

Pour into a large baking pan (it completely filled a 9x13 dish), and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. cheese. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until bubbly.

This really is a flavorful casserole. It's quite different from any others I have tried. I think next time I will experiment and use chicken breasts and then chicken broth instead of reserved water. It may not be as yummy, but it will be less hassle and probably cheaper (I was surprised at how much a cut up fryer chicken cost!). I'll let you know. :)