Monterey Chicken Pasta - Some Good Stuff

I have been wanting a casserole and when Steph posted the recipe for Monterey Chicken Spaghetti on her Plain Chicken blog, I knew it would do the trick.  Check out her site for the original recipe and some great shots of the dish.  I borrowed this shot from her to show how good it looks. 

We had a whole large chicken in the freezer that I thawed and cut up to cook for the meat – I was planning to bake it but Bev already wanted another round of Italian Wedding Soup so I cooked the chicken in water to a breast temp of 165F to make the broth for the soup.  

I made the casserole using the ingredients list as written but I substituted rotini for spaghetti as I thought it would be a little easier to eat and I changed the directions a little to make it easier for me to mix well.

Monterey Chicken Pasta – Adapted from Plain Chicken

Ingredients:

12-oz dried spaghetti (or your favorite pasta)

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 (16-oz) container sour cream

2 (10.75-oz) cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

1 (6-oz) can French's French Fried Onions, divided

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain.

In a large bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, drained spinach, 1 cup cheese, and garlic.

Stir in the chicken and 1/2 of French's French Fried Onions.

Stir in cooked spaghetti and pour into prepared pan.

Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese and onions on top of pasta mixture.

Bake, uncovered, for 40 to 50 minutes or until bubbly (mine took 60 min)

I didn't work at presentation which is why I showed Steph's shot.

It was a big hit with all four of us and Pat said it was the best chicken casserole she’d ever had.  This is a keeper recipe and next time I’ll do two things differently: first is to use a rotisserie chicken for more flavorful meat and second I’ll add ½ soup can of half n half as Bev thought it could be a little creamier.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

1/29/18 Meal Dates