Friday, May 20, 2011

Healtier PW Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe is my "healthier" take on the famous Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti Casserole.

Basically I increased the chicken and the veggies. And decreased the noodles, the cheese, and the cream of chicken/mushroom soup.

The Ingredients
  • 3 cups Cooked Chicken
  • 2 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
  • 1 can Cream Of Chicken Soup
  • 1/2 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 Green Peppers Finely Diced
  • 1 Red Pepper, Finely Diced
  • 1 Finely Diced White Onion
  • 1 Cup of Mushrooms, Finely Diced
  • 1/2 cup Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
  • 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
  • ⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
  • Salt And Pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
(And if you have extra veggies like lying around the house, like green onions, squash, or extra onions or peppers, you can finely dice those and throw them in the mix. Extra veggies = extra goodness!)



For pretty pictures of chicken and veggies being chopped up and mixed be sure to check out the original recipe.

Preparation Instructions
  • Cook 1 cut up fryer (chicken) and pick out the meat to make three cups.
  • Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente.
  • Combine all ingredients except 1 cup sharp cheddar in a bowl.
  • Place mixture in casserole dish (or multiple smaller casserole dishes for smaller serving sizes) and top with remaining sharp cheddar.
  • Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly.
  • I like to freeze one serving and cook another right away. Double your meals!

This is how it looked right before I put it in the oven.


So delish! And packed full of yummy veggies!

7 comments:

Meghan said...

I love chicken spaghetti and these are great ideas to make it a bit healthier! I always make sure to buy low sodium/low fat mushroom or cream of chicken soup, which helps too. I'll have to try adding more veggies!

Nicole-Lynn said...

Yum! I've never tried chicken in spaghetti but this sounds amazing! Thanks for the recommendation!

I love making dishes I see online and in cookbooks healthier by adding in fat free and low sodium versions of things.

Always Learning said...

You could even exchange the pasta to whole wheat pasta. I see you were married not so long ago, I wrote a post about my 30 year marriage wanting to help younger women to not make the same mistakes I made. You may want to check it out:
http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-testimony.html

You have an adorable blog!

Glamorous Newlywed said...

Bless you for posting this! I LOVE this spaghetti, but the original version does NOT love my hips :)

Nicole-Lynn said...

I couldn't remember where I saw this and so glad I found it again! haha

Naturally Caffeinated Family said...

oooh, nice! I've made this once I think and I *usually* ;) do the same thing too, I always add more meat and veggies to dishes, and my Hubby always says there can (almost) never be too many veggies (and I love me some meat :)) :)

Chardonnay said...

I'm making this in a few days :) Thanks!

Blog Widget by LinkWithin