Brrrrr... it sure is cold in Oklahoma (yet somehow we've missed any snow!!) and almost everywhere else around the country it appears right now, too! With temperatures hovering well below freezing for days and days, we just want snuggle in with some warm comfort food for dinner. You too? A friend shared this cheesy chicken pasta recipe with me years ago and it's one of our favorites. It's similar to mac and cheese, but adding chicken makes it more substantial and a little more grown up! ;) My daughter had some friends over for lunch on Monday when they were out of school, so this was an easy recipe to throw together to feed a crowd.
Here's what you'll need:
16 oz. pasta- I usually use Penne but bowties or other kinds would work just as well
2-3 Beef Bouillon Cubes
1-1 1/2 lb. chicken breasts
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
12 oz. Velveeta
8 oz. Sour Cream
1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. Garlic Powder
1 t. Dried Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 oz. Cojac Cheese, shredded
Bread Crumbs for topping if desired
In a large pot, add bouillon cubes to water and cook chicken. When chicken is done, remove and cut into cubes, and reserve about 2 cups of broth. Cook pasta according to directions on box. When pasta is finished, drain and return to pot. (I usually don't use about a cup of the cooked pasta, the whole box almost seems like a little too much for the recipe and the baking dish.)
Combine the cooked pasta with soup, sour cream, milk, seasonings, and Velveeta cheese. Turn burner back on low if necessary and stir until cheese is melted. You might add in some of the broth if mixture seems too thick.
When Velveeta is melted, stir in diced chicken and the reserved broth. You'll want the mixture to be very wet and almost soupy, the pasta will really soak up the liquid as it warms in the oven and you don't want it to be dry. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed or more Italian seasoning if desired.
Spread mixture in a 9x13" baking dish coated with non-stick spray, then top with shredded Cojac cheese. Sprinkle on bread crumbs if you'd like to make it just a little bit fancy. ;)
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly.
(Because I know someone will wonder- that cute towel was a gift from a sweet friend. It's not online but it was from Anthropologie and you might still find it in stores.)
Serve with a simple salad and bread (this one is a favorite) and you're done... Approved by a house full of 9th graders! Said house full of people ate all of the salad before I photographed it with the meal. :)
What's your favorite comfort food? Another of mine is meatloaf believe it or not... and of course mashed potatoes! Stay warm, friends!
Thank you so much for always providing a photo of the ingredients! This is so helpful to me!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that's helpful, Debbie! I did leave the milk out of this photo, but hopefully everyone has that on hand!
DeleteI tried this recipe for dinner tonight but had to alter it a little because I didn’t want to get out in the snowy weather. I didn’t have beef bouillon cubes so I used chicken bouillon cubes. I didn’t have Colby jack cheese so I just omitted it. My hubby is not a huge cheese fan anyway so it was fine. I did add a crumb topping of crushed Ritz crackers since I had no bread crumbs in the pantry. It was delicious and everyone gave the go ahead to make again. It makes a huge amount. Do you ever freeze a portion for later? Thanks for a great meal idea!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your family enjoyed it, and that you were creative with the recipe! The crackers on top sound delicious! I don't think I have frozen it before but you could certainly try. It would probably just need a bit more liquid stirred in when you heat it back up. Thanks for your feedback!
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