Vegetable Laden Chicken Spaghetti
This chicken spaghetti has a lot of vegetables cooked into the sauce and has an extra kick of spice to make sure that it leaves its bland reputation behind.
This chicken spaghetti has a lot of vegetables cooked into the sauce and has an extra kick of spice to make sure that it leaves its bland reputation behind.
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 can (12 oz) cream of mushroom soup
- 1 whole chicken boiled, deboned and cut into bitesized pieces
- broth from chicken strained
- 1 1/2 medium onions chopped
- 1 medium green pepper
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms minced
- 1 sm jar pimento chopped
- 1 12-oz can tomatoes petite diced or rotel tomatoes (what i use)
- 2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder watch the heat on this - you may want to use less (or more) to t
- 1 12-oz can cream of celery soup
- 2 cups reserved broth
- 1/4 cup chili sauce found next to ketchup (can use ketchup if you don't have it)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 cup kraft easy melt cheese or velveeta
- 12 ounces angel hair
- 2 tablespoon smoked paprika (optional - but adds great flavor) if not sure about taste star
- Carbohydrate 29.874739 g
- Cholesterol 110.081 mg
- Fat 22.337722 g
- Fiber 2.99173506539762 g
- Protein 25.902685 g
- Saturated Fat 7.0747566 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (314g)
- Sodium 546.4762 mg
- Sugar 26.8830039346024 g
- Trans Fat 3.33470925 g
- Calories 423 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large Dutch oven saute the vegetables (onion, celery, bell peppers, minced mushrooms) in the olive oil until softened; add garlic and cook about 3 more minutes.
- Add pimentoes, tomatoes and cook until hot; add Worcestershire sauce and chili powder; cook until bubbly.
- Add cream of mushroom soup and cream of celery soup, broth, chili sauce and paprika; stir until combined.
- Cook until hot and bubbling.
- Cook spaghetti noodles until almost done (do not overcook - they will continue to cook in oven).
- Mix the cheeses together in a bowl.
- When noodles are done, drain and then add to pot of vegetables; add chicken and combine well.
- Add half the noodle/chicken mixture to a greased 9X13 baking pan; add half the cheese mixture.
- Put the rest of the noodle mixture in the pan and put the rest of the cheese on top.
- Cover the casserole with foil (sprayed with vegetable spray to keep it from sticking).
- Bake in a 350? oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil, and bake for another 10 mintes until hot and bubbling.
- Let sit for about 10 minutes, then serve.
Controlling Moisture in the Sauce Base
Sweating aromatics thoroughly in olive oil releases their internal water before canned soups and diced tomatoes enter the Dutch oven. Mincing mushrooms finely ensures they distribute evenly rather than absorbing all the cooking liquid. Deglazing the pan with reserved chicken broth pulls caramelized starches from the bottom of the pot, building deep savoriness without requiring expensive additions. Cooking the vegetable mixture until bubbly activates the starches in the canned soups, creating a cohesive emulsion that clings to the pasta instead of pooling in the baking dish.
Protecting Angel Hair Structural Integrity
Boiling angel hair pasta only until it is slightly underdone prevents the strands from turning mushy during the thirty-minute bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Undercooking the noodles by two minutes leaves room for them to absorb excess moisture from the sauce without losing firmness. Draining the pasta thoroughly before combining it with the chicken and vegetables stops unwanted water dilution. Layering the noodle mixture alternately with the cheddar and Velveeta cheese blend guarantees every portion receives equal pockets of melted richness.
Managing Thermal Timing in Casserole Assembly
Covering the greased 9x13 inch pan with foil for the initial thirty minutes traps steam to heat the interior evenly without burning the cheese topping. Removing that foil for the final ten minutes allows surface moisture to evaporate and encourages the dairy proteins to brown properly. Allowing the baked dish to rest for ten minutes off the heat lets the sauce cool just enough to set properly for clean slicing. Batch boiling a whole chicken and reserving the strained broth days in advance streamlines the assembly process for efficient kitchen workflow.
