Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

When I was growing up, my family never made traditional casseroles for dinner. There was really no need. We were an Indian family, so if we were going to make any type of casserole, it would have been an Indian-flavored casserole anyways, with cilantro and cayenne pepper, and maybe some turmeric. So, as I became older and listened to my friends talk about how their moms and dads prepared tater-tot casserole or a hamburger pie casserole for dinner, I was completely floored, and a bit envious. The casseroles they described sounded so…homey…so…comfortable. What they were describing was pure comfort food. For me, comfort food was, and still is, chicken korma or shrimp biryani.

Ever since my friends described their casseroles to me, I’ve been wanting to make one. I made the tater tot casserole one day and it was SO GOOD that I even forgot about the fact that one serving is like 1000 calories. A couple of days ago, I made this less caloric (but NOT low calorie) casserole:




It’s chicken spaghetti folks. And it rocks.

Chicken Spaghetti
Serves 4

1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti, broke into pieces
2 cups boneless chicken breast half, cooked and diced
1 (4 ounce) jar chopped pimento peppers
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Mix together in large bowl: cooked spaghetti, diced chicken, pimentos, mushroom soup, bell peppers and cheese. Pour into a large casserole dish and sprinkle ½ cup of cheddar cheese on top. Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated oven.

Enjoy!