sharing.

do you have the pioneer woman's cookbook? the other yulie and i went to see her late last fall. she was hysterical. so were her punks and marlboro man, of course.

anyway. i've been reading her cookbook on and off for the last month. never made anything. just reading. i guess i was kind of busy in december to do anything more than read it.

but today. i made chicken spaghetti on the recommendation from the other yulie. i know this isn't an original recipe. it's actually in my church's cookbook from 1998.

but none. the. less. it's good. really. creamy. warm-up-your-toes. on a -zero-degree-cold day. good. and....although. i was missing some ingredients and had to substitute. (because it was just too. cold to drag the littles to the store.) it's just one of those easily substitutable dishes...and since it's all over the internet anyways. and in my church cookbook. i thought i'd share. my version of it with you.

you should try it. you really should. but be prepared. invite an army over. because. it makes a lot. a lot. i tell you.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken (i used 4 chicken breasts)
• 1 lb Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces (believe me this feeds a lot).
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups diced Green Pepper (i used a whole pepper).
• 1 small diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained. (sorry no pimentos here. so i subbed a jar of roasted red peppers, diced. they added a great flavor that you wouldn't get from the pimentos).
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt ( no seasoned salt either. i used an adobe seasoning mix from penzy's spices. (have you been there? it's wonderful). it was perfect.)
• ⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

How to's:

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. (since i didn't have a fryer, i just cooked chicken breasts, shredded them and then made chicken broth chicken granules to cook the spaghetti in). Don't overcook the spaghetti! When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. my church recipe also called to add bread crumbs to the top. this gave it a great crunch on top. i mixed the bread crumbs with the cheese. bake: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly.