Our days are rarely perfect. We clash with coworkers, fight traffic, experience loss, the list goes on. And when things turn sour, we often turn toward the things that make us the happiest. Family, friends, and food often rank high on the scale.
Easy Spicy Southern Chicken Spaghetti
For many of us, comfort food is where our minds go. But what is comfort food? Simply put, it’s food that makes us feel better. It’s Mom’s chicken soup. It’s mac and cheese, a steaming bowl of grits or oatmeal, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Comfort food is made up of dishes that hold memories for us. Comfort food makes us happy.
Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS
1 lb pasta – cooked
1 lb chicken tenders
2 TBS butter
12-16 oz Velveeta (plus extra if you want to add more when you reheat it – see above notes – or if you like a wetter dish use the full 16oz. Go less for a mac-n-cheese texture – more for an Alfredo kinda thing.)
1 cup milk
1 10 oz can Rotel (tomatoes & chilies)
1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom or cream of celery)
1/2 tsp cumin
2 TBS sriracha or other hot sauce
1 cup Panko or other bread crumbs
1 cup grated cheese (I used a cheddar & mozzarella mix)
S&P to taste
Parsley and/or crushed red pepper as garnish
DIRECTIONS
Cook & drain the pasta.
Spray a grill or frying pan with cooking spray & cook the chicken tenders & then cut them up.
Melt the butter in a deep stock pot sprayed with cooking spray, too. The cooking spray seemed to make the inevitable browned/burned bits of cheese easier to clean off later. Add the Velveeta, Rotel, soup, milk, hot sauce & cumin & melt it all together over med-high heat. Add the chicken. Toss it with the pasta. I added about 1 TBS of black pepper here. You add S&P to taste.
Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray & put the chicken spaghetti in it. Top with grated cheese & bread crumbs.
Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling & the bread crumbs brown a bit.
Garnish with parsley or crushed red pepper or more hot sauce. Eat it up & promise to join a gym after the new year. Until then – fuck it! Melt some more Velveeta in a pan with a bit of milk. Reheat the leftover chicken spaghetti & toss it with the additional melted cheese. Shove it your face. Have some Fireball whiskey, too. Why not? You are gonna join the fucking gym in January – so FTW! And while you get likkered up & gain 40 pounds of Velveeta-induced poundage – look at my recipe for Spicy Extra Crispy Southern Fried Chicken
Our days are rarely perfect. We clash with coworkers, fight traffic, experience loss, the list goes on. And when things turn sour, we often turn toward the things that make us the happiest. Family, friends, and food often rank high on the scale.
Scale
Ingredients
1 lb pasta – cooked
1 lb chicken tenders
2 TBS butter
12–16 oz Velveeta (plus extra if you want to add more when you reheat it – see above notes – or if you like a wetter dish use the full 16oz. Go less for a mac-n-cheese texture – more for an Alfredo kinda thing.)
1 cup milk
1 10 oz can Rotel (tomatoes & chilies)
1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom or cream of celery)
1/2 tsp cumin
2 TBS sriracha or other hot sauce
1 cup Panko or other bread crumbs
1 cup grated cheese (I used a cheddar & mozzarella mix)
S&P to taste
Parsley and/or crushed red pepper as garnish
Instructions
Cook & drain the pasta.
Spray a grill or frying pan with cooking spray & cook the chicken tenders & then cut them up.
Melt the butter in a deep stock pot sprayed with cooking spray, too. The cooking spray seemed to make the inevitable browned/burned bits of cheese easier to clean off later. Add the Velveeta, Rotel, soup, milk, hot sauce & cumin & melt it all together over med-high heat. Add the chicken. Toss it with the pasta. I added about 1 TBS of black pepper here. You add S&P to taste.
Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray & put the chicken spaghetti in it. Top with grated cheese & bread crumbs.
Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling & the bread crumbs brown a bit.
Garnish with parsley or crushed red pepper or more hot sauce. Eat it up & promise to join a gym after the new year. Until then – fuck it! Melt some more Velveeta in a pan with a bit of milk. Reheat the leftover chicken spaghetti & toss it with the additional melted cheese. Shove it your face. Have some Fireball whiskey, too. Why not? You are gonna join the fucking gym in January – so FTW! And while you get likkered up & gain 40 pounds of Velveeta-induced poundage – look at my recipe for Spicy Extra Crispy Southern Fried Chicken
By howtocook 
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