CHICKEN SPAGHETTI - TEENAGE STYLE

   

8 ounces dry spaghetti
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1-1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 cups frozen vegetable mix, thawed (broccoli, cauliflower, carrot)
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1-1/2 cup chicken broth (not pictured)
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, paprika

 1.  Before you start cooking, please wash your hands!!!  Turn on the oven and set to 350F.  Get out a casserole dish and butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

  

 2.  Boil spaghetti until al dente, drain, and place in the greased casserole dish.  Teenagers love to throw spaghetti at the wall to see if it's done.  If it sticks, it's done!  (Please ask the owners of the walls before throwing food!)

3.  While the spaghetti is boiling, saute the chicken breasts in 2 tbsp. olive oil  until completely cooked through.

  

4.  When the chicken is completely cooked,  turn off the heat and add the mushroom soup to the pan.  Add pepper and paprika to taste, about 1/2 tsp. of each.  Be careful when adding salt, as the soup and cheeses have plenty of sodium.

5.  Add the thawed vegetables to the casserole dish, along with 1 cup of cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.  

 6.  Now it's time to add the chicken and sauce.  Mix it all together.  Don't eat it yet!

7.  Top the dish with  1/2 cup each of cheddar cheese and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  

Be careful not to add shredded knuckles or fingernails to the recipe!!!  Eeeewwww!! 

8.  Bake for about 30 minutes and get ready to dive in to the cheesy, gooey, yummy mess!

The Chicken Spaghetti Story

It was 10:45 in the morning.  My cell phone vibrated in my hand and I saw that one of my daughters was calling.  My motherly instinct said, “Worry”!  After all, my 14-year-old twin daughters and their best friend rode their bikes across town to feed and care for their FFA animal projects at the school’s agricultural barn.  It was a short ride, but one that took them across a small highway.  Well, as you know, we Mamas like to worry, and I’m an expert at it!

“What’s wrong?”, I abruptly answered.

“Mom do we have any chicken?”, asked Baby B

“Chicken?” I curiously replied.

“Yes, Mom.  We want to make chicken spaghetti, but don’t worry.  We’re going to ride our bikes to the grocery store to buy the other stuff.”

Let’s park here for a moment.   My kids were offering to shop and cook.  While my girls like to cook, they have never wanted to shop for the food, much less ride a bike to the store and spend their own money on said food.  Were my girls abducted by aliens while they were bike riding?  Were these industrious shopping and cooking teenagers really just extraterrestrial replacements? 

I granted permission, promised to thaw the chicken, and started a litany of worried mother’s advisories:  “Just be careful crossing the highway.  Use the crosswalk.  Don’t talk to strangers.   Remember, bad people don't always look weird.  Don’t ride against traffic.  Stop at the stop signs.  Call me when you get to the store.  And…”

“We’ll be fine, Mom.  Thanks!  See ya later!” Baby B sang to me.

By the time the shoppers arrived home, I discovered that they had decided to do some additional shopping by first taking a detour to a feed store to buy a $15.00 can of  fly spray.   Apparently the barn had flies of biblical proportions, and they needed the expensive stuff to get rid of the infestation.  After that, they rode their bikes to the grocery store and purchased all the ingredients for their lunch.  Before riding home, they went back to the ag barn to spray those pesky flies. 

Finally, about an hour after that phone call, they arrived home hot, thirsty, and hungry.  Amazingly, I was never asked to cook the casserole dish that they had planned.  (I just helped a bit here and there.)  And about an hour after their arrival, we were all eating delicious Teenage Style Chicken Spaghetti.  YUMMM!!!

BATCH COOKING :: Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

**updated on 8/4/2010**

Get ready to fill your freezer with 5 delicious chicken recipes. What’s great is that 2 of these recipes are perfect for busy nights and use the crock pot. One of the recipes is a healthy replacement for your kiddo’s favorite chicken nuggets.

Be sure to look for bags of boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale. Each bag usually comes with 6-8 pieces, so buy at least 5 bags. If you spend $6.00 per bag, your meals still cost less than $6.00 each!!!   OR you can purchase bags of boneless, skinless chicken thighs for a lower price. 

** Don’t forget to add these meals to your Make-a-Menu Calendar as soon as they hit the freezer!!**

MENU MAKER MOM’S FREEZER MENU:
Tropical Chicken
MMM’s Crunchy Chicken Tenders
Sensational Chicken and Potatoes
Parmesan Chicken
Hurry Up Chicken Fajitas

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup BBQ sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1-1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup orange marmalade
4 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. flour
4-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. minced garlic (fresh or jar)
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cumin
2-1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. season salt
4-1/2 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/3 cup bread crumbs
30 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Small box/bag of cornflakes (about 14 oz.) (store brand is great, or use coupons to get FREE cereal!)
2 Green peppers
2 onions
4 potatoes
1-1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
4 cups milk
4-6 slices mozzarella cheese
1 cup parmesan Romano cheese, grated
1 8 oz. can pineapple chunks

FREEZER SUPPLIES:
2 quart freezer bag, 3 gallon freezer bag.  Label your freezer bags:

1 quart-size bag with “Tropical Chicken”
1 gallon-size bag with “MMM’s Crunchy Chicken Tenders – bake on cookie sheets at 350 for 10-15 minutes”
1 gallon-size bag with “Sensational Chicken and Potatoes”
1 gallon-size bag with “Parmesan Chicken”
1 quart-size bag with “FAST Stovetop Chicken Fajitas”

KITCHEN TOOLS:
3 large mixing bowls, 2 cookie sheets, 1 shallow bowl, 1 medium mixing bowl, food processor or blender (optional)

STEP-BY-STEP:
1. 4 HOURS or ONE NIGHT BEFORE: Marinate 6 chicken breasts in ¼ cup Italian salad dressing in the refrigerator.

2. Cut 10 chicken breasts long-wise into ½” strips. Put one half the strips into the bag labeled “FAST Stovetop Chicken Fajitas”. Add 2 Tbsp. minced garlic, 2 Tbsp. canola oil, ¼ cup soy sauce, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, ¼ tsp. ground cumin, 1-1/2 tsp. lemon juice to bag. Squish and squeeze to coat. Seal and freeze.

3. Cut the other half of the chicken strips further, into 2” slices. Put into the medium bowl. Sprinkle 3 Tbsp. flour over top and toss together. Put into the bag labeled “Tropical Chicken”. Seal and freeze.

4. Heat oven to 350. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Pour 4 cups milk into a large bowl. Cut 8 chicken breasts into 1” strips. Put into the milk.

5. Process the corn flakes by using the pulse function of your food processor or blender until the flakes are crumbs,  but DO NOT MAKE THE FLAKES INTO DUST!!!   If you don’t have a food possessor or blender, just put the flakes into a plastic bag and pound with a rolling pin.

6. Pour the crushed corn flakes into a large bowl. Add the season salt, 4 tsp paprika, 4 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp pepper to the flakes. Place chicken strips one at a time in the mixture, pressing down to coat very well.  You have to press the coating into the chicken with your hands AS HARD AS YOU CAN.

7. Place strips on prepared cookie sheet. Bake 15-18 minutes or until juices run clear. When done, cool then place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and flash freeze for an hour. Place in bag labeled “Chicken Tenders – bake on cookie sheets at 350 for 10-15 minutes”. Seal and freeze.

8. Put 6 chicken breasts into the bag labeled “Sensational Chicken and Potatoes”. Pour 3/4 cup Italian salad dressing on top. Seal and freeze.

9.  Heat oven to 350. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

10. Remove the 6 marinating chicken breasts from the refrigerator. In a shallow bowl, add ½ cup parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp. dried parsley, ½ tsp. paprika, ¼ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper. Press chicken pieces one at a time into crumb mixture.

11. Place coated chicken pieces the prepared cookie sheet. Pour any extra crumb mixture on top of chicken pieces. Bake approximately 30-45 minutes or until juices run clear. Cool. Flash freeze. Place in bag labeled, “Parmesan Chicken” and freeze.

SERVING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Tropical Chicken – Thaw. Place in CROCK POT. In a small bowl, mix 1/3 cup orange marmalade, 1/3 cup bbq sauce, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, ½ tsp. ginger. Pour over chicken. Add ½ sliced green pepper, ½ sliced onion, 1 small can pineapple chunks (drained). Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with steamed rice and fresh steamed broccoli.

2. MMM’s Crunchy Chicken Tenders – Place frozen strips on a cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes or until heated through.

3. Sensational Chicken and Potatoes – Thaw. Pour into CROCK POT. Top with 1 tsp. Italian seasoning and ¼ cup parmesan cheese. Cut 4 potatoes into wedges and lay on top of chicken. Top with ¼ cup Italian salad dressing, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, and ¼ cup parmesan cheese. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with a big green salad.

4. Parmesan Chicken – Preheat oven to 400. Pour 1 cup spaghetti sauce into a 9” x 13” casserole dish that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Place thawed chicken parmesan pieces in the sauce, then turn to coat.  Cook in oven for 10 minutes. Top chicken with mozzarella slices and bake another 10 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with crusty Italian bread and a big bowl of salad.

5. FAST Stovetop Chicken Fajitas – Drain marinated chicken, saving juice. Slice 1 small onion, one small green bell pepper, and one small red bell pepper. Heat one Tbsp. canola oil in a large skillet. Put chicken and bell peppers into skillet. Stir fry on med-high heat until done, adding liquid an necessary. Serve with tortillas, Spanish rice, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, cheddar, sour cream, and salsa. OLE’!