Chicken Spaghetti (and some Substitutions)

Jen will have to forgive me, but I've used my "administrator" privileges and am editing her post a bit to include the actual recipe and directions... not just the substitutions for a quick recipe reference. But Jen's substitutions are good to know, too! And this dish was seriously amazing. The flavors were so good. One note, though, is that it made a ton! It made enough for me to fill 2 large casserole dishes. If you're cooking for a regular sized family, you'll definitely want to freeze half of this.

And as always, go to her site for the easy, no-fail, step by step, humorous instructions.

2 cups cooked chicken (I used 1 whole fryer chicken and had just a bit more than 2 cups)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (I used 1 Cream of Mushroom and 1 Cream of Chicken)
2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
1/2 cup finely diced onion

1 4 oz. jar pimentos, drained
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into pieces
2 cups reserved chicken broth (from your cooked chicken)
1 tsp. Lawrys Seasoned Salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper (or we used Crushed Red Pepper Flakes)
Salt and Pepper to taste
additional 1 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

Cook 1 cut up fryer until done and pick out the meat to make 2 cups worth. Cook Spaghetti in remaining chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook! Once your spaghetti is done and drained, mix it with all your remaining ingredients except for the additional cup of grated cheese.

Place mixture in a casserole dish and top with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes or until nice and bubbly.

Emily made this delicious chicken spaghetti over the weekend while we were in Vegas. We also tried several other delectable recipes (like an amazing chocolate pie....) that we loved and one that we didn't like so much (the steak with the lemon pepper rub).

We had a busy night last night with Anya's soccer game and then shopping for a Relief Society activity. I knew we wouldn't have a lot of time for dinner, but I wanted the kids (and me!) to have something other than sandwiches. I also wanted Alan to be able to have something to take to work for lunch today. I normally have just about everything on hand for this recipe so I figured I could make it easily enough. I made it at about 3 in the afternoon so it would be ready in time. Aaron and I ate ours during the game and Anya had hers in the van after the game.

However the point of this particular post is to expound on the many substitutions I had to make (!) since I ended up having almost nothing in her original recipe.

The recipe called for.... and I used.....
a full fryer chicken.....a very large breast and a leg quarter
2 cans cream of mushroom....1 can cream of mushroom and 1 can cream of chicken
green pepper....red pepper
pimentos....chives (I know this doesn't make sense, but I wanted something green)
sharp cheddar cheese...mont jack/cheddar blend
Lawry's seasoned salt...lime pepper, Mrs. Dash, salt
cayenne....red pepper flakes

I wish I would have remembered about my green onion that I did have, I would have subbed that instead of the regular onion. Nonetheless, the dinner turned out fabulously. Anya didn't like the spiciness of it. The red pepper gave it some heat as an aftertaste. I don't know that Aaron particularly liked it either. But I loved it!