Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

Ok, I realize the title of the recipe says chicken spaghetti, and the picture has penne pasta, but, hey, it's what I had on hand. It's also easier for the kiddos to eat!

My friend Melodie sent me this recipe from allrecipes.com, and it was one of the very first meals I made in India! When I first started making it I used a packet of the Chicken Delite soup in place of the cream of mushroom soup, because it was before I found the cream of soup from scratch recipe. But I like it better with the from scratch version - it eliminates the "India" flavor in it. 

Mel told me that she made this recipe using chicken keema (ground chicken), so that's what I've always done, but you could easily cook some chicken breasts and cube them up or shred them. If you do that, I'd recommend sauteing the onions and peppers for a little bit before mixing them in to soften them up. I actually used the other half of the cooked chicken keema with peppers and onions I had frozen when I made my Taco Pasta last, which made this super fast to whip up! I just thawed it out and then stirred it right into the cream of chicken soup base. The instructions below are from ground zero though! Double the recipe to make a 9x13 sized casserole.

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

Original Recipe

1/2 lb chicken keema

1 onion

1 red pepper (or any color)

1/2 lb/250 g of spaghetti

1.5 cups of cheese

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp Italian Seasoning (optional)

Cream of Chicken Soup Base:

* 2 TBS butter

* 3 TBS flour

* 1/2 cup chicken broth

* 1/2 cup milk

* salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. If using spaghetti, break into pieces.

Meanwhile, brown the chicken keema along with the onion and red pepper, and Italian seasoning. Set aside.

Make the cream of chicken soup base: in a saucepan, dissolve 1 chicken cube in 1 cup of water. Reserve 1/2 cup of broth in a measuring cup, and pour the other 1/2 cup into the chicken. Melt butter in sauce pan. Whisk in flour and stir till smooth. Stir in the reserved 1/2 cup of chicken broth and milk. Whisk until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Drain pasta, then stir in the chicken mixture, the soup mixture, and the cheese. Spread in a baking pan and bake at 170 degrees Celsius (350 F) for 15-20 minutes (really, if you're in a hurry, you could even skip the baking step and just eat it straight from the bowl!). Serves 3-4 people.

This is a small baking dish, not a 9x13