Mexicana Chicken Spaghetti

My husband really enjoys this dish and suggested I share it with you all. I think this simple creation may be the reason he fell in love with me. It was also the first meal he asked me to make after 5 months without my cooking (Boot Camp, AIT training). :-)
It's my own Spicy Mexican spin on Chicken Spaghetti.
Many of you have had Queso dip at Mexican restaurants. Well often times they add Melted cheese, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Onions and Ground Beef together and serve it as cheese dip with chips. Well I have a creation with similar ingredients to Queso and Chicken Spaghetti and made a pasta dish that is delicious and unique!

Ingredients:


Chicken breast - 2 to 3 (depending on size of chicken)
1 box Spaghetti or angel hair (serving size varies)
Velveeta - 12 oz serves 4 people
1/3 lb  Regular or Hot Ground Sausage or Ground beef (optional)
5oz (1/2 can of 10oz can) of Cream of mushroom

1- 10 oz can Regular Rotel 

Milk 1/2 - 1 cup (amount varies, add more if sauce gets too thick)

Garlic Powder -  5 dashes
Salt - 5 dashes
Ground Pepper - 5 dashes
Crushed Red Pepper - 3 dashes (optional)
Onion Powder - 3 dashes (optional)
Oil or 1/8 cup of butter (for cooking Chicken)
1 TBSP of Oil (For pasta)
1 dash of Salt (For Pasta
Garlic Powder - 2-3 dashes for Cheesy sauce

Directions:

1. Cook ground sausage or ground beef. For ground beef season with salt and Pepper (3 dashes of both). Cook until fully brown no pink.
2. Boil water with a dash of salt and a tablespoon of oil. When water reaches a boil add spaghetti as directed on the box's directions. When spaghetti is ready, drain in a strainer, and rinse noodles under cold water for 30 seconds to avoid sticking together. If noodles stick or dry out rinse in cold water again right before serving. Keep noodles in strainer until ready to serve.

Before Melted on Stove Top

3. Heat pan. Add oil or butter and chicken.
4. Season chicken with Garlic, Salt, Pepper crushed red pepper and onion powder if desired. Cut chicken into thin and small pieces (bite size) during cooking or before. Cook until no more pink is in the centers.
5. Add Velveeta, Rotel, cooked sausage, Cream of Mushroom and Milk to Either
Option 1: A pot on stove top
OR
Option 2: A large microwavable bowl

Option1:
Warming Sauce on Stove top: It will need to be stirred a lot. The danger of cooking it stove top is that the cheese could burn at the bottom. So keep the heat low or medium low and you should prevent this from happening. I also recommend breaking the Velveeta into smaller pieces. And stirring and watching closely. If the cheese burns at the bottom of the pan do not scrape the bottom when stirring. This way you can avoid burnt brown cheese in your food. If the burnt cheese somehow comes off the bottom, usually it is easy to pull out with a spoon or fork.

Melted and Mixed Sauce on Stove Top

*If cheese seems too thick add 1/4 cup of extra milk. If sauce is too watery let it keep warming on medium low and it will thicken. 

Option 2:

Warming sauce in the microwave: (No Pic sorry) Warm for a minute at first. Stir well Continue to heat 30 seconds and stir after each heating until cheese is fully melted and Rotel, cream of mushroom should be mixed in well.


7. Add cooked, bite size chicken pieces to the sauce & (if desired) extra Garlic seasoning.
9. Make sure sauce is warm, you can turn up heat but keep below medium to avoid burning).
8. Rinse noodles in strainer over with water to make sure they aren't sticking. Make sure they are drained well and Serve desired amount of noodles onto each plate.
9. Drizzle desired amount of cheesy, chicken sauce on top of spaghetti filled plate
And...
Dinner is served!

Great sides to add would be french bread, or canned corn.

Buen Provecho! Enjoy!

Spicy Parmesan Chicken & Pasta Salad

I love Pasta! Who doesn't? And I really like trying different seasonings on chicken. Well one day I decided I wanted to try something new. I hadn't been eating many veggies and wanted to have something that seemed healthier and came up with this creation. When I sat down to eat it, my previous roommate and her mom looked at my plate and said "What is that?" Since then a few people have tried this creation and really enjoyed it. I hope you will also. It's a little different but it's pretty simple and definitely tasty.

Prep and Cooking Time: 30 mins
Spicy Level: Mild

Ingredients & Seasoning for Chicken & Pasta:
Boneless Chicken breast (1 per person usually)
Olive Oil or butter - to cook the chicken in
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Garlic powder
Minced Garlic bits (optional)
Spaghetti or angel hair pasta
Salt
Ground or Crushed Black Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper (for a little spice!)
Onion or onion powder

Salad Ingredients:
These are very flexible. I recommend the veggies I usually use with this salad but you can make your salad all your own.

Spinach leaves or Salad Mix of choice
Carrots
Cucumber
Snap Peas
Orange, Red or Yellow Bell Pepper
Tomatoes
Ken's Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (my preferred brand but another Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing may be used if desired)

Directions:


1. Sprinkle or season chicken with garlic powder, onion powder (or use fresh onion if desire), Minced Garlic, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, and Grated Parmesan Cheese. (How much is up to you. I am usually pretty generous with my seasonings (except salt) but remember you can always add more but it's a lot harder to take away.) I always try to season both sides.

Here's a pic of my cooked seasoned chicken:

2. Boil water in a pot for your spaghetti. Most boxes, bags of spaghetti will tell you how long to cook them. And if you want to know if your spaghetti is ready. You can always pull out a strand and throw it at the wall fast. It should stick to the wall if ready. Or feel a piece to see if it's the right softness or eat a strand. You should be able to tell by either of these ways. Most spaghetti takes around 8-10 mins.
2. Cook the chicken breasts in oil or buttered pan until chicken is no longer pink on the inside. I often times slice my chicken breast into long thinner slices to cook more easily. Some might prefer to cook a whole breast and cut into slices afterward. It's all preference. I usually keep my chicken cooking at Medium for about 7-10 mins. Lowering the heat towards the end. Be sure chicken is thoroughly cooked and flip a few times as needed. Remember no pink.
3. When your chicken is finished set it to the side.
4. When the spaghetti is ready drain it and drench it with cold water for about 30 seconds or so and let it stand in the drainer. This shocks the spaghetti so that it won't stick together as much. If it begins to stick again. Run it under more cold water. Keep in drainer until time to serve.
5. Make your salad. You can do this part on your own. Chopping the veggies as you like.
6. Serve a large place with salad mix and veggies mixed in as the base, then about a handful of spaghetti for each plate (wash your hands first), next a few cooked chicken slices per plate, The Balsamic dressing (a regular amount, let others put extra if they like) and finally sprinkle more grated parmesan cheese on top.

The result will look something like this:

Hope you enjoy my favorite chicken & pasta salad. Bien Provecho!

Pictures Please!

I hope you had a very happy Christmas and New Year's Day. We went 1920s style @ a costume party in Austin for New Year's Eve. It was awesome. If you're ever in the Austin area you should definitely check out Romeo's. It's a great little Italian restaurant that has live music often on the weekends. And for New Year's Eve this year it had a costume party. Check us out. I won 3rd place for my costume.

So for those of you who are wondering what my uncle's famous Sausage recipe may look like before you try it out, I'm finally sharing photos. Just of the sausage part. Enjoy!

Before

After

  

I am also sharing a pic of my homemade Chocolate & Peanut Butter chip, M & M cookies that I made for Christmas! :-) Not from a mix or package. LOL. Hope you will try these ideas that I'm sharing. And don't worry there are more to come.

Coming Soon: Parmesan Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad- A new and fresh creation. This is not your regular winter meal, but after the holidays my hubby and I decided we want to eat more veggies and lighter dinners. So hope you will check out this blog again soon. It may be just what you were wanting after all that turkey, roast beef, tamales, ham, sweets and holiday eating.