As Good As It Looks

I’ve really been racking my brain lately trying to come up with things to cook for our regular Sunday Company Dinner. Our crowd has swelled a bit, and now if everyone came there would be 14 adults and 7 kids to cook for. It can be challenging to come up with something that is generally crow-pleasing, as well as make-ahead. There’s nothing worse than spending an evening in the kitchen when company is here, so other than finishing touches, dinner is a make-ahead affair.

This week, while trying to come up with something to cook, I turned my eyes to the cookings of The Pioneer Woman. You may remember her cinnamon rolls…to die for, that’s for certain! I thought it was time to try another one of her dishes, so I chose her Chicken Spaghetti. Spaghetti, chicken, and other goodies mashed up into a pan and baked for a while until bubbly- it’s complete comfort food. Her chicken spaghetti begins with the whole chicken. This is poached in water until cooked- and this in itself serves two purposes. One, your chicken will be cooked, but will still be moist and full of flavor. And two, the remaining liquid is full of flavor! The broth is used to cook the spaghetti, and then a bit is also added to the dish itself to add some moisture. I liked this step. Poaching the chicken and using the broth cancelled out the detriment of adding cream soups and cheese later on in my mind.

So the chicken is cooked, then the pasta is cooked. The pasta is combined with cream of mushroom soup (and I also added cream of chicken), sharp cheddar cheese, green bell pepper, and some pimento, (so that you can pretend there are vegetables inside and it will be good for you!) , and then the whole thing is smooshed together and baked until bubbly.

The result was better than I expected. It really was comfort food, and it really was delicious! This multiplied easily for a crowd, and in fact, we have so much left over that I now have three pans in the freezer for our family for a later date. Did I mention this is also a make-ahead dish AND can be successfully frozen? How can you not love a dish like that!

To make a vegetarian version, obviously you’d do a few things different. First, I would use some veggie broth to cook the pasta- I like Knorr vegetarian vegetable soup cubes myself. You can also use any assortment of “cream-of” soup to your taste, and obviously, you’d leave out the chicken. Additional vegetables could be added too, carrots and zucchini would be perfect.

For the recipe this morning, I’m going to have to send you over to see Ree. It is her recipe after all, so I’m not going to copy it here since I really didn’t change much. But while you’re over there checking out Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Spaghetti, peek around at her other recipes…there are some drool-worthy photos going on over there, and I’ll bet each and every one of them is fantastic.