Warning: As with all of my recipes, I don’t really measure anything. I shake, stir, add and taste till it looks right, tastes right, and smells right. Feel free to adjust up and down for your family size and tastes.
This is easy for a weeknight dinner, and great for using odds and ends. Since you only need about 1.5 cups of meat, feel free to use leftovers or a rotisserie chicken. Depending on your meat costs, you could make this for as little as $5 and have a crowd of happy people.
Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti
1 whole chicken or 1 lb of chicken breast
1 lb spaghetti
2 cups of shredded cheese, divided
1/4 cup of hot sauce (Frank’s Red Hot Sauce)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Boil either a whole chicken, or 1 lb of chicken breast. Season with seasoning salt, garlic, pepper, etc. After chicken is cooked, remove from water and set aside. Cut breasts into small pieces or take the meat off of the bones – you only need about 1.5 cups of meat. Break pasta into thirds. Boil in water/broth that you cooked the chicken in. Cook until fully done. Drain, but reserve 1 cup of pasta broth/water.
While pasta is cooking, mix 1 cup of shredded cheese (I used odds and ends that were in the fridge), 1/4 cup of your favorite hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce), and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup. Mix to combine soup mixture and chicken and pasta. Add pasta water slowly until mixture is loose, but not watery. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Top with additional shredded cheese. Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes until everything is bubbly.
This makes a lot. Feel free to adjust for your family. We’re fazing cream of whatever soups out of the house, so you could substitute any cream-based sauce. You could add a can of corn. You could also add a can of Ro*tel, and that would be tasty.
Kristin