(For those that missed my other post the basic idea is one member of the group out of those that decide to participate -- either nominated or we'll just go in order of how the members are listed under the members tab -- provides a recipe -- either from the internet, a book or one they already know of -- for the others participating to make sometime during the week -- which will go from Monday to Sunday so people have the chance to make it on the weekend -- and then repost whether they liked it or not, what they did differently, a picture of the finished food, etc. And you don't have to participate every week if you don't want to either.)

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti Casserole:

Ingredients:
• 1 "Cut Up Fryer" (Basically, one chicken that’s been cut into pieces). (Or if you have cooked chicken from another source, like leftovers, roisterre chicken from the store, etc. just be sure to add a small amount of canned chicken broth to the water before you boil the spaghetti. Not too much, though, or the dish will be too salty.)
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces.
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup (or, if you want, Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup -- you can do one of each, or pick one.)
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese.
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Green Pepper.
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion.
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained.
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot.
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt.
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper. (only if you like a little spiciness in your food, though.)
• Salt And Pepper (to taste).
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese.

Preparation Instructions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, rinse the chicken thoroughly with cold water piece by piece. Throw the chicken into the pot and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for a few minutes, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer for a good 30-45 minutes.
2. Next, break the thin spaghetti into 2-inch pieces until you have around 2 1/2 to 3 cups.
3. Next, take the cooked chicken pieces out of the pot. Turn heat to high. Then dip a measuring cup into the pot and retrieve 2 cups of broth. (Don’t burn yourself!). Now dump the spaghetti pieces into the boiling chicken broth to cook. Allow the spaghetti to cook for several minutes, until very al dente (or, until it still has a nice "bite" to it.) You do NOT want to overcook the spaghetti, as you’ll be baking the dish again later. When it’s ready, drain the spaghetti and set aside.
4. Pick the chicken meat off the bones. For this recipe, you need 2 cups (packed) of cooked chicken. You can use any cut of chicken you like.
5. Now, place the cooked spaghetti into a large mixing bowl. Add the chicken and 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup. Add the diced green pepper, onion, and pimentos and 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese. Now add 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, a generous sprinkling of black pepper (fresh ground is great, too) and 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper.
6. Now start adding the chicken broth, beginning with 1 cup. Stir it up, then add a little more. You want the mixture to be stirrable, but definitely not soupy. (I usually stop just short of using the full two cups.) Stir thoroughly, then take a bite and check your seasonings. Add a little salt if needed, a little more pepper, and maybe a little more Cayenne if you didn’t have enough Chutzpa the first time around. Make sure it’s seasoned enough!
7. Place mixture into a casserole pan. Any shape will do. Top with an additional 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar. Bake it at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes until hot & bubbly.

Great idea!!  I'm in!

Im in ...

Sounds good - we'll see :)

I cant make it this week, but will definitely be adding this to our menu for the following week. I love PW - pioneer woman and project wedding! :)

i did it ladies! but i only somewhat followed the recipe... actually i made quite a few changes to see if i could make it a little lower in calories since i'm watching what i eat! instead of using canned mushroom soup, i used fresh mushrooms and made a sauce using low sodium chicken broth and low fat milk. i also added some veggies in the way of peas and carrots. it ended up being almost like a chicken pot pie, so for the crust i used breadcrumbs instead of another layer of cheese.

here's my revamp:

* 2 roasted chicken breasts, skin and bone removed
* 1/2 package of Ronzoni Smart Taste Thin Spaghetti
* 1 package of white mushrooms, sliced
* 1 cup of carrots, diced
* 1/2 cup of frozen peas
* 1 small onion, diced
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1/2 poblano pepper, diced
* 2.5 tbsp flour
* 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
* 1/2 cup lowfat milk
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
* 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
* 3 tbsp olive oil
* salt & pepper

i started by oven roasting the chicken breasts on the bone. i just drizzled them with a bit of olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper, then roasted them for 30 mins at 350 degrees. when they were done, i set them aside to cool.

meanwhile, i sauteed the mushrooms in a nonstick pan with a little bit of olive oil, seasoning the mushrooms with s&p as they cooked. then i set them aside. i also put the spaghetti in a pot to boil.

in a medium saucepan, i began to saute the onions and the carrots. once the carrots began to get tender, i added the poblano pepper, the garlic and the mushrooms i had just cooked. next, i sprinkled in the flour and mixed it around to let the flour cook and create a roux. then i added the chicken broth and the milk (making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan), brought it all to a boil and let it simmer for several minutes until it got nice and thick. meanwhile i took the skin and bone off of the chicken breasts and cut the meat into bite sized pieces.

once the sauce had thickened, i threw in a handful of frozen peas and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. at that point, i tasted it to see if it needed any more salt or pepper. it just needed a bit of salt. then i added the chicken and the cooked spaghetti.

for the topping, i mixed 2 tbsp of bread crumbs with 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese and a bit of olive oil and then sprinkled it on top of the casserole. finally, into the oven it went for about 30 minutes and under the broiler for the last 3 mins to brown the top.

i calculated the number of calories, and if i divide it into 6 servings, it comes to 300 calories per serving! (total fat per serving: 7g)

and it's super yummy! pictures!

this is about the size of one serving:

i'm thinking that this will be a great way to use up the leftover turkey after thanksgiving!

oh jamichael, i'm going to have to try your version now! :)

i made this last night and followed the recipe more closely, but used less cream of mushroom and chicken broth than the other ingredients amd used chicken breasts vs. the whole chicken. and it was yummy; everyone in the house loved it! no one even waited so i could take a picture of it they were so hungry from the smell while it was baking!

I won't be able to make this one this week .... but It sounds good .... This is going to be fun every week

will try this weekend... (yea, i dont have to plan meals...i'll just use these recepies!); so exciting! and looks delicious!

I made it - and it was really good!  Followed directions but with these changes:

I used 1 can cream of chicken soup and made some plain white sauce.(I was afraid it would be too salty) - but next time I think I will use 2 cans of the soup.

I'm not much of a fan of cheddar cheese so I used a package of pizza mix ("mild" cheddar and mozarella) for the part that's mixed in, and used mild not sharp cheddar for the top.

I used red hot sauce (wing sauce) instead of cayenne pepper. (I live in Buffalo, so what do you expect?) LOL

The whole family loved it. Photobucket is giving me trouble today, so uploaded 2 pics of dish to my photos here on PW