Chicken Spaghetti...and a baby!

I bet you didn't think I could come up with yet ANOTHER kind of spaghetti...but I have! =)

I LOVE chicken spaghetti (obviously).  But, I have long been on a mission to find a recipe for this that does not include Velveeta.  There is something about cheese that can sit at room temperature in your pantry for years that just doesn't sit right with me.  I have finally found it...and made it a bit healthier...your arteries will thank me later! 

I made this recipe this week for my sister and brother-in-law because they just had a baby girl and I thought it would be an easy thing to freeze and heat up later.  I obviously can't talk about her without putting up a pic...or two...

 

 

That car seat picture just cracks me up!  She apparently is not a fan...

Back to the spaghetti...This is actually a Pioneer Woman recipe.  If you haven't looked at her website, you should stop reading this and go there immediately, its much more interesting than mine...I promise!  Her recipes are awesome, but not so much on the healthy side.  The three biggest things I changed are:

 2 cups of reduced fat shredded cheddar 

391 calories, 15.8 grams of fat, 55 grams of protein

vs.

3 cups of regular shredded cheddar

1366 calories, 112 grams of fat (!!!), 84 grams of protein

3 cups whole wheat spaghetti noodles

30+ grams of fiber (depends on brand)

vs.

3 cups spaghetti noodles

12 grams fiber

2 cans healthy request cream of mushroom

350 calories, 10 grams of fat

vs.

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

500 calories, 30 grams of fat

Makes a HUGE difference!!  On to the recipe...for real...

2-3 cups raw chicken

2 cans healthy request cream of mushroom

2 cups low fat shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 diced onion (my onion was DISGUSTING when I went to cut it, so I actually left this out...either way!)

4 oz jar diced pimientos, drained

3 cups dry whole wheat spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

pepper to taste

Start by boiling chicken until cooked, I used tenders so it took about 10 minutes.  Please take note of my new Le Creuset Dutch Oven I got for my anniversary...LOVE!!

Remove chicken from water when done, boil pasta in same water until soft.

Drain pasta, and put back in pot.  Add remaining ingredients.

Shred chicken and add to pot.

I forgot to take a picture of the end product, but mix it all together...you get the idea!  I actually added a 3rd can of cream of mushroom because I knew I was going to freeze it and I didn't want to to be dry when it was reheated...just an option.

The original recipe called for it to be baked for 30-45 minutes with an additional cup of cheese on top, but I thought it tasted really good at this point, so I stopped.  And dinner was ready 45 minutes earlier than I thought...no complaints here!  Sorry for the SUPER long post...

ENJOY!