Friday, September 14, 2012

Busy Bee- Creamy Chile Chicken Spaghetti

Man, I really can't believe it has been so long since I posted. Sorry y'all! I thought that life was maybe going to slow down a bit after removing a few things from my plate but then a new buffet of options appeared to fill life back up! I have started working three days a week outside of my house and that has made me fall a bit behind on having a camera handy to catch the menu's and meals that we have been eating. We have had a lot of Kraft mac and cheese and cereal for dinner and I have tried and failed and tried and succeeded with some new recipes these past few weeks.
I have been aching for it to be cold around here. I have been leaving with a sweat shirt on in the morning (which is funny since I am the most hot natured person I know) hoping that I will have to still have it on at the end of the day, but it is usually removed before I can get to my car. I purchased some pablano's to make my tortilla chicken soup a couple of weeks ago but they are still hanging out in the bottom of my produce drawer begging to be used. I love Fall. If you have been with me long you know that my heart overflows with fond memories during the Fall. I love everything about it...except for the massive amount of trees that produces a massive amount of leaves in my front yard. Since I have not had a ton of time on my hands I decided to create a new dish that would combine the love of my chicken enchiladas with my love of chicken spaghetti. Now, chicken spaghetti has been around for ages. I looked up some recipes for it and they are pretty much all the same, rotel, Velveeta, pasta, chicken. I have a great recipe for my chicken spaghetti but some times it can have a bit too much heat for my young ones which forces me to eat the whole pan. I also don't typically have Velveeta on hand because 1. It wigs me out, 2. It wigs me out, 3. It is expensive and I would eat the whole pan. So, for this chicken spaghetti I opted to use a cream cheese base because nothing that was bad ever started with cream cheese. This had just a bit of heat from the green chiles and a bright freshness from the parsley and green onions. You can easily double this to make a whole batch and freeze it if you are needing to take someone a meal. This was also kid tested and approved...which is the best compliment this tired mom can get these days! It looks like a TON of steps but it is all super easy and just be ready to throw all of these pots in the dishwasher when you are done!

Creamy Chile Chicken Spaghetti

1 Large bone in chicken breast or 2 boneless skinless
Place your chicken on a foil lined (no washing needed!!)cookie sheet. Rub with olive oil and put a heave sprinkle of salt and fresh cracked pepper on it. Throw it in your oven at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes (bone in) or 18 (boneless) until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork. Remove and allow to cool before shredding the meat.

1/2 lb. angel hair pasta
1 8oz container cream cheese softened
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup minced onion
2 green onions minced
1 can whole green chiles, drained and chopped (DON'T BUT PRE-CHOPPED if you can help it!!)
1/4 cup fresh chopped Italian parsley
2 cups Monterrey jack cheese shredded
2 cups chicken

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 2-3 Tbsp of salt and throw in the pasta. Cook for about 5-6 minutes until the pasta is tender. Drain right away.
In a small pan, saute 1/2 cup minced onion in 2 tsp olive oil for about 8 minutes until the onion is soft.
In a large bowl, place the cream cheese, cream of chicken, cooked minced onion, green onions, chiles, parsley, shredded chicken and 1/2 cup of cheese. Add your cooked pasta and warmed broth and toss until all is combined. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 until golden bubble on the outside and the center.
Serve with a big salad and chips and salsa.

Enjoy Y'all!

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