Hot Chicken Casserole

This recipe is truly an oldie, but a goodie. It belongs to the Husband's side of the family and he's been eating it for years. It's absolutely the definition of comfort food and has really become a treat for us since we're eating healthier these days.

Hot Chicken Casserole

2 chicken breasts
1 small package of spaghetti
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped onion
½ stick of butter
¾ pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 can Rotel
½ t salt
½ t pepper

Boil the chicken breasts until done. Shred the chicken. Using the same water, cook a small package of spaghetti noodles. Let it cook down but leave it a bit soupy.

Brown the chopped bell pepper and onion in butter in a medium skillet. Mix pepper and onions, noodles in remaining liquid, shredded chicken, Velveeta, Rotel, salt and pepper in a large casserole dish.

Cook at 200˚ for 2 hours covered, stirring occasionally.

Who doesn't love a dish smothered in Velveeta? No one I know. If you don't cook with Velveeta in the South, people look at you funny. Now I sure don't use ¾ lb of the stuff as the recipe suggests, but I can assure you the cheese level is sufficient. This recipe also makes a ton - I cook it in a 2 ½ quart baking dish and it comes to the very top. Leftovers heat very well and last for a few days, so you have to not mind eating the same thing over and over again for a short time. Freezing does weird things to the texture of pasta in my experience, so I don't know if I would do that. It's also important to stir it about every 20-30 minutes so the top doesn't get crunchy and everything melts well.

Yes, I forgot to wipe the plate before I photographed it. I once had a kitchen manager who insisted all plates went out clean and would personally inspect them. I guess it makes for a good impression. And yes, this is a fairly monochromatic dish thanks to all that cheese. You can see some of the green peppers and the tomatoes from the Rotel, but everything else is the color of Velveeta. Again with the onion, I don't use a whole one. I'm good on about two or three slices, finely diced. I do use a whole green pepper, though, but it's going to be on the smaller side than some of those behemoth peppers. As for the cooking time, I have been known to cheat and raise the temperature to 300˚ and cook for only one hour. It still turns out fine. Just remember to stir it occasionally. So there you have it - a down home, creamy, cheesy, comfort food. Should you attempt to pass this off as a family recipe of your very own, I won't take offense.