The Ultimate Belly Pleaser

I apologize that I did not post a recipe last week. I know I never thought about it, but maybe it is because I Adam treated me to a home cooked meal! It more than hit the spot.

This week, I planned on making one of my ultimate favorite meals. I learned this one from my mom and I am not 100% sure if my grandmother made it before her. Needless to say, it is one that I usually request over winter break from school and before I run my long distance races.

Some families call it chicken casserole, but here is our family recipe for Chicken Rotel:

In a 5-qt Dutch oven, add the hearts of celery, water, salt, and pepper along with 4 chicken breasts. Bring this to a boil, turn off the heat and let sit for 25 minutes. You can also use celery seeds and a bouillon cube to the broth if need be. Luckily, I had celery hearts left over from tailgating this past weekend.

Chicken boiling

After you have the chicken boiling, in a sauté pan heat 6T butter long with a diced, small onion and mushrooms. Use as much vegetables as you (or your family) likes. I added peas, green beans, and carrots. My mom usually only adds peas and bell peppers. This time around, I didn't have a bell pepper and I had a bag of frozen vegetables. While this is sauteing, add in 1 teaspoon of Worchestershire sauce.

If only you could smell this

While the vegetables are sauteing and the chicken is boiling, I went ahead and cubed up 16oz of American Cheese (aka Velveeta) so it will be more easily mixed later into the pasta. Also, take about 4oz. of thin spaghetti noodles and brake them into halves.

 Take out the cooked chicken and pull it into shreds. I used a knife and fork to pull apart the chicken tenderloins.

It takes longer than you think.

Now that the veggies are good and cooked, take the skillet off the heat. Once off the heat, add in a can of Rotel tomatoes. I use the ones with green chiles for additional flavor! Also, add in the cooked shredded chicken.

So bright and colorful

Taking the broken thin spaghetti noodles, cook them according to the package - mine told me to bring 2-qts of water to a rapid boil then add noodles, once noodles are added bring back to a boil and hold for 8-10 minutes.

Pasta is done

Once you've added together the Rotel - Chicken - Veggie combo into the pot of noodles. Add in the cubes of cheese and let them melt. You might need to turn the pot onto low heat, if the the Dutch oven has cooled off too much.

Cheese is starting to melt

Once you have all ingredients well combined, pour it into a 9" x 13" glass baking dish. Make sure you spray it with a cooking spray. Bake it at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.

Ready to be baked

Happy baking, y'all
Good Golly