Mississippi Chicken Spaghetti

Growing up I was never served chicken spaghetti. It wasn't until college that my roommate mentioned she had it at a church social. That was the first time I had heard of it. It was many years later when I found a recipe and tried it myself. It is delicious. The recipe I normally make is cheesy; it has chicken, Velveeta, peppers, onions, cream of mushroom soup and spaghetti. A quite common recipe for chicken spaghetti. This post today is something very different. I found it in a company cookbook my Nannie gave my Mom. I copied it and it has been in my to try pile for a few years. This week I decided to make it on one of the days I was home working. I thought it would be great to have a pot of something I could eat from when I was too busy to cook. It was delicious! Much lighter than the recipe I usually make. It is so hard to describe this one. It has such an unique flavor; it is not BBQ or creole, but maybe related in a way. It is sweet and creamy, loaded with the trinity of celery, onion and peppers hence the creole reference. Then is has chili powder for spice, I think that is what makes it have a hint of BBQ flavor. I really enjoyed it. I did try to make it healthier than the recipe in the cookbook. I cut way back on the butter and used healthy options for the can soups. I took a short cut too and used a rotisserie chicken. It was a very hearty, comforting pasta meal. It was even better the next day. Believe or not it is great cold too. I will definitely keep this recipe in my recipe box.

Mississippi Chicken Spaghetti

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

6 stalks celery, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 can reduced fat, low sodium, cream of mushroom soup

1 can reduced fat, low sodium, tomato soup

2 cups fat free, low sodium, chicken broth

1/4 tsp. black pepper, or to taste

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed and shredded

16 oz. package spaghetti

Directions

In a 3-1/2 quart pot melt butter in olive oil over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper; sauté until tender. Add sugar, chili powder, soups, broth and peppers; simmer for 30 to 40 minutes on low heat.  Boil spaghetti according to package directions and drain. Add chicken and spaghetti to sauce stirring to combine. Serve and enjoy.

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