Day 21: Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe came out of the Pioneer Woman cookbook. I love her site and her recipes. Most of her recipes are super fattening--lots of cream and butter--but this one wasn't to bad.

Chicken Spaghetti

12" dutch oven

1 cut up fryer chicken, cooked and cubed (I used 4 breasts)

3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup finely diced green pepper

1 small onion, diced

1 4 oz. jar pimentos

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. Lawry's season salt

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente. Be sure not to over cook it or it will get mushy. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients except 1/2 cup of cheese. Drain the pasta and combine with the chicken/soup mixture. Put in your dutch oven and top with 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 35-45 minutes. I used 12 coals on the bottom and 16 on top.

The Finished Product

What I Learned

Heat, heat, heat. I swear I am going to burn everything once the weather warms up! This took extra coals, but it was very wet and windy outside. Overall, this one was easy and worked really well in the D.O. This could have easily been a one pot meal. Boil the chicken, cook the pasta in the same water, use the leftover chicken/pasta water for the broth and finally mix it all in the dutch oven. I had to cook my chicken and pasta inside because of the wind, but next time I will do it the one pot way. 

The Review

This recipe was really good! I was worried at first because it was really runny. But the pasta soaked up the rest of the chicken broth and it was great. I would let it sit for 10 minutes before you dig in and it will set up better. I served it right away and it was a little runny. The whole fam thought it was delicious, and the leftovers won't last long. This makes a lot, so if you aren't feeding an army you will want to cut it in half. Grade: A