Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

I have been craving chicken spaghetti for longer than I can remember. It's one of those things you always look for at the lunches after church cause you know it's going to be good. So, I looked and looked for a recipe that sounded like what I wanted but couldn't find it anywhere. I decided to just use bits and pieces and added a few other things and here we go. Gooey and yum.


Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

1 lb spaghetti

1 lb chicken breast cut into chunks

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped onion

1 8 oz. container sliced mushrooms

1 can original rotel tomatoes, drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and start pasta water. Chop your onion and bell pepper. I hate all the little seeds in the bell pepper so I've found the easiest way to cut them is just to slice right down the sides.

Add the onion and bell pepper to a large skillet and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for around 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, add the soup and drained rotel tomatoes to the largest bowl or pot you have. Cut the cheese into small pieces and add that to the soup and rotel. If you like it REALLY cheesy you can just double the amount.

Boil your pasta for a little more than half it's usual cooking time. It should not be fully cooked when you take it out. I just used tongs to remove the pasta and add it to my mixing bowl. I used the pasta water to cook my chicken; one less dirty pot. Feel free to cook your chicken earlier though. You also want to make sure your chicken is a little undercooked. That way it will still be tender and not dried out. Mix everything together as best you can and add it to a large casserole dish.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Corn Salad

Before Saturday morning, I had never been to a farmer's market. I know...a travesty. Due to my extreme love for sleeping in and penchant for laziness, it was just not at the top of my "to-do" list. Not to mention the Sendik's in Greenfield is amazing and leaves me wanting for nothing. But when my mother-in-law Sandi told me there was a guy in one of the tents who sharpened knives (Who incidentally griped at me for being so rough with mine.), I was begging her to take me along.

I don't know why waking up at 6:00 on a Saturday morning is so much worse than any other day but it just is. If I wake up before 9:00 it's either because my early-riser husband is up cleaning something and I guilt myself out of bed or there's something really great, worth getting up for. This was totally worth it. From the amazing produce and flowers to the farmer girl wearing her hand knit stocking cap and eating her breakfast out of tin foil, it was all perfect. I would like to think next summer I will spend more Saturday mornings foraging through local produce, but let's be serious; I am not an early bird. :)

So...corn salad. I was able to get everything I needed at the market which only made this great recipe even better. You can substitute frozen corn for the fresh but you shouldn't. Fresh is best.

Corn Salad

6-8 ears of corn, shucked

1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes

1 ripe avocado cut into chunks

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons cider or champagne vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Shucking corn on the cob can be a pretty messy job but nothing beats the taste. So here are a few tips for keeping the mess down. I always put a plastic sack in the sink, my corn on one side, and a bowl or towel next to the corn. Start by running your thumb across the husk and rolling it back on itself.

Tear them off until you get close to the silk hairs, which can be such a pain to completely remove. With the last two husks still in place, divide the silk and then pull back with each husk. You'll get almost all the little strands with that one step. The ones leftover will be easy to remove.

I always cut off the very top and very bottom of each cob just to make removing the kernals easier. Add the corn to a large pot of boiling, salted water. Cook for 3-5 minutes so the corn isn't so starchy then remove and place in a large bowl of ice water.

After the corn has soaked for several minutes (It shouldn't be warm when you cut it off.), I always place it on a dish towel and use the ice water bowl as my mixing bowl to make clean up easier. Cut the corn off the cob and add to the bowl. Or you can place a smaller bowl upside down in the big bowl and cut the corn on top of that. Then the kernels will fall into the bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients and serve cold or at room temperature. If preparing ahead, you can refrigerate the corn, tomatoes and onion and save the avocado, basil, oil and vinegar to be added right before serving. You can also leave out or add almost anything you want and it will still be great!