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Quick and Easy Chicken Spaghetti
We have so many chicken recipes that we make that sometimes it seems like we make nothing but chicken recipes here at home.
My husband has jokingly suggested that we open a restaurant that just makes meals with chicken, because we could fill up a very large menu with all of our recipes for chicken. lol
If you can find a quick way to cook a chicken breast thoroughly in a short period of time, most of these recipes can be super easy and quick.
My husband likes to cook his chicken breasts over the stove, as he can do it well in about 20 minutes. But I just can't do that reliably like he can.
So when it's me cooking the chicken, I like to make it in the oven. I can thaw it, season it and pop it into the oven at 400 degrees F for an hour and know that it will come out perfectly.
It's easy to time it to come out at just the right time for when I need it for dinner preparations.
If I want to save myself some time on future meals, I can simply cook several of them in the oven for an hour and then place them in sandwich bags in the refrigerator or freezer for later. Easy peasy!
And then I don't have to tell you how easy it is to make spaghetti quickly. And voila!
Let's walk through the steps so you can reproduce this great recipe yourself.
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium chicken breast, shredded
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose seasoning
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 inch angel hair pasta
- About 1 cup prepared spaghetti sauce
- (Optional) Parmesan cheese, for a topping
Instructions
- Start by thawing your chicken. Obviously there are many ways to thaw chicken safely, and the microwave is probably not the best method.
- Consider thawing your frozen chicken breast sin the refrigerator overnight or in a sink full of room temperature water for several hours before dinner.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and spray a square casserole dish with plenty of cooking spray.
- When your chicken is ready, place it in the casserole dish.
- Season well with an all-purpose seasoning. We got hooked on our Harley's Seasoning when we lived in Texas. You can easily find it online for sale if interested.
- Now season well with your garlic powder.
- Bake for one hour in the oven.
- About 20-30 minutes before your chicken is done, put a small soup pot of water on the stove to boil.
- You might want to add a little bit of salt to the water, but it's not absolutely necessary.
- When the water is boiling, add about an inch, with a spaghetti measurement tool or your hand, of angel hair spaghetti pasta to the pot.
- I prefer angel hair because it's lighter, and allows you to better enjoy all of the other flavors in the dish without all of the carbohydrates.
- I would boil for about 10 minutes.
- You'll know your pasta is ready when you remove a piece or two or taste it for readiness. Every person has their own preference in pasta readiness.
- When done, strain your pasta in the sink in a strainer and then dump it back in the pot where it cooked.
- When your chicken is done, transfer it to your cutting board.
- With two forks, shred your chicken breast by holding the breast with one fork, and pulling the meat apart with the other fork.
- Dump your prepared spaghetti sauce into the pot with your pasta and mix well.
- Now add your shredded chicken. I only used half of the chicken I shred and put the rest in a baggie in the refrigerator for another meal.
- Mix everything together in your pot and it's ready to serve.
- My husband likes to top it with even more sauce and lots of Parmesan cheese. But I just like Parmesan cheese.
- Enjoy! Yummy! Yummy!
Nutritional Information
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 cup of chicken spaghetti | |
| Calories | 310 |
| Calories from Fat | 54 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 6 g | 9% |
| Saturated fat 1 g | 5% |
| Unsaturated fat 4 g | |
| Carbohydrates 49 g | 16% |
| Sugar 10 g | |
| Fiber 3 g | 12% |
| Protein 14 g | 28% |
| Cholesterol 17 mg | 6% |
| Sodium 536 mg | 22% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Personal Review
There's nothing better to serve with a nice hot plate of gooey chicken spaghetti than some Fantastic But Easy Garlic Bread and a nice cold but delicious salad!
Feel free to make this dish healthier for your family by loading it up with yummy vegetables like peas, corn, brussel sprouts, and/or spinach leaves.
You could even substitute pasta for spaghetti squash for a whole new meal! Or just pile on a side of hot veggies with your spaghetti.
Many people make their chicken spaghetti with a white cheesy sauce instead of tomato sauce, or you could use a pesto instead.
Don't fear getting creative with your meals. After all, only you know what's best for your family, and what will draw them to the dinner table.
I hope you enjoy this wonderful meal that so easy to make, it's almost silly not to make this one of our regulars.
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© 2014 Victoria Van Ness
