Chicken Spaghetti

The last ten days really thru me off. I had a couple of items planned to make from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, but I then I remembered that I do have a year to complete the challenge and one week off isn't going to be the end of the world.

Tonight, the girls met for Bible study at our house. I knew Adam wasn't sure what time he would be home, so I wanted to make something that would feed about 12 girls and be easy. I opted for the Chicken Spaghetti. I had already purchased all the ingredients a couple weeks ago. I only go the grocery store twice a month and go back for milk, bread, and fruits if needed.

I decided in order to make my life easier, I would prep the meal early and put it in the fridge until I was ready to put it in the oven. I don't know why I never thought of doing this before, but it made everything so much easier. As Taylor napped, and Mason played, I started cooking. The prep time took a little less than an hour.

First, I boiled the chicken. The recipe asks for a fryer chicken you can cut up, but I already had chicken breasts in my freezer and I wasn't going to spend extra money to do the exact same thing with the chicken, not to mention it was much easier.

While the chicken boiled, I decided to go ahead and cut up the green bell pepper and the small onion. I actually only used half of a small onion and thought it gave the dish just the right amount of flavor, without being too powerful.

After the chicken had boiled, I took it out to cool and set aside the two cups of the chicken broth.

Next, I boiled the spaghetti noodles in the remainder broth from the chicken. I think this gives the noodles a little extra flavor and I liked that I wasn't waisting any part of the broth.

As the noodles boiled, I shredded the three chicken breasts. I love shredded chicken in almost any casserole or soup. It's perfect in my mom's Chicken Tortilla Soup.

In a large mixing bowl, I added the drained spaghetti, the cream of mushroom soup and the cheese.

Then I added the bell pepper, pimento, onion and the spices. It calls for Cayenne Pepper and I didn't think that a quarter of a teaspoon gave it enough taste, so I added more. But definitely taste it after it's mixed to make sure it is to your liking.

I added the shredded chicken and the broth that we set aside in the beginning and mixed everything together. The recipe says it will make 6 to 8 servings, so I was worried if it would be enough for 12 girls.

Add the shredded cheese and place in the oven or covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. I wish I could say that I have a picture of the finished dish, but I didn't have time to get my camera before we dug into it.

Not only did everyone love it, but some of the girls took some leftovers home and I still had plenty left over as well. I am going to freeze it and pull it out one night, when I'm in need of a quick meal. I know I've only made three of her dishes, but I haven't tasted anything I don't like.

Challenge: Cooking my way thru "The Pioneer Woman Cooks"

Recipes completed: 3

Recipes left: 60