Chicken Spaghetti

By Peggio

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken (I use a broiler, cut up)
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Green Pepper
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 75mins
Adapted from thepioneerwoman.com

Preparation

Step 1

First, fill a pot with water…
And put it on the stove to boil.
Rinse the chicken thoroughly with cold water…
Throw the chicken into the pot…
And bring to a rolling boil. Boil for a few minutes, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer for a good 30-45 minutes.
Next, take the cooked chicken pieces out of the pot. Turn heat to high.
Then dip a measuring cup into the pot and retrieve 2 cups of broth. (Don’t burn yourself!)

Now dump the spaghetti pieces into the boiling chicken broth to cook.
Allow the spaghetti to cook for several minutes, until very al dente (or, until it still has a nice "bite" to it.) You do NOT want to overcook the spaghetti, as you’ll be baking the dish again later.
When it’s ready, drain the spaghetti and set aside.

Now for my favorite part: picking the chicken meat off the bones! Make sure the chicken is cool enough to work with, then just start picking away!

Note: You can use any cut of chicken you like. I like the whole fryer because it gives you a mixture of dark and light meat, but if you’d like to do just breasts, that would work just fine!

Now, place the cooked spaghetti into a large mixing bowl.

Add the chicken…

Now add the diced green pepper, onion, and pimentos…

Now add 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt…

And 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, but only if you like a little spiciness in your food. I add Cayenne because I think it makes the dish a little more interesting, but it’s also good without it.

Now start adding the chicken broth, beginning with 1 cup. Stir it up, then add a little more. You want the mixture to be stirrable, but definitely not soupy. I usually stop just short of using the full two cups.

Stir thoroughly, then

. Add a little salt if needed, a little more pepper, and maybe a little more Cayenne if you didn’t have enough Chutzpa the first time around. Make sure it’s seasoned enough!

Place mixture into a casserole pan. Any shape will do.

And top with an additional 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar.

This really is one of the all-time greatest "make before" comfort foods. 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).