Raspberry Mojito Cupcakes

This recipe for Creamy, Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti is one I’ve been meaning to share for a while. But it was a recipe that needed to be tweaked. The original recipe I had for it was, well, kinda bland. It tasted fine but it wasn’t anything to get excited over. I kept thinking that it needed a little more kick of flavor but I still wanted it simple to make. That’s the beauty of this recipe. It is super simple and it makes enough to feed your family and still have enough for leftovers. And it is so flippin’ good!

Our days are rarely perfect.  We clash with coworkers, fight traffic, experience loss, the list goes on.  And when things turn sour, we often turn toward the things that make us the happiest.  Family, friends, and food often rank high on the scale.  For many of us, comfort food is where our minds go.  But what is comfort food?  Simply put, it’s food that makes us feel better.  It’s Mom’s chicken soup.  It’s mac and cheese, a steaming bowl of grits or oatmeal, and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Comfort food is made up of dishes that hold memories for us.  Comfort food makes us happy.

Tweaking ain’t easy!
So when I set about tweaking it, I thought I would switch out one of the cans of cream of chicken for a can of cream of onion or a can of cream of mushroom. Both of those were just not working. The mushroom didn’t really add much flavor and the onion was way too strong that it overpowered the other flavors.

With the loss of our sweet family pet recently, comfort food has been on the menu a lot at the Little household.  Sometimes a hearty stick-to-your ribs meal is just what the heart wants.  Yeah, yeah, calories… blah, blah, blah, but still.  Calories don’t count when your heart hurts, right???

For me, one of my favorite comfort foods is the classic chicken spaghetti.  You know which one… Velveeta Cheese and Ro*tel tomatoes.  Yep.  That one.  I just love the stuff.

Voila! The best is born!
So, I decided I would switch out the can of Rotel (which is basically tomatoes and green chiles) and replace it with salsa. Now I was onto something! That really added some yummy flavors. With just a bit of taco seasoning added – it took this dish from bland to BOOM! This is my original recipe – you won’t find another one like it for chicken spaghetti on the internet!

And that chicken spaghetti made perfect sense when my friends at Family Dollar asked me to show y’all my favorite comfort food dish.  It’s funny because we live out of town a little and the closest thing to us is our Family Dollar store, so I always go by there to grab things for supper.  You’d really be surprised at the selection if you haven’t been in one recently.  They’ve got all the staples covered, and as you can see by this recipe, a whole lot more.  I got everything for this recipe including the frozen chicken breast and the spices!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound (16 ounces) spaghetti noodles
• 1 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 (10 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10 ounce) can Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies), drained

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boil the spaghetti noodles in a large pot of water, according to package directions. Drain water.
2. Meanwhile, In a large pot, add the velvet cheese and milk. Stir and cook over medium heat until cheese is almost melted. Pour in both cans of soups and the rotel tomatoes. Stir until mixture is combined. Continue to cook and stir for 8-10 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated.
3. Stir in the shredded chicken and cooked spaghetti noodles. Serve immediately in individual bowls.