Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Using Your Food Storage: Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti

One of the blogs I have followed for years is that of Ree, the Pioneer Woman. She's famous now, having a cookbook, romance novel, and children's book to her credit. Reese Witherspoon is even reportedly signed on to play her in a movie based on her life. I feel proud that I found and loved her long before Hollywood beckoned. It's a sign of greatness on my part, don't you think?

One of her recipes that I make is a casserole called Chicken Spaghetti. It's pure American comfort food. I made a huge pan of it for my neighbor after she had a baby and amazing things started happening. Bags of produce fresh from their garden began to show up at my front door. Neighborly acts of kindness abounded. It was a good thing. The Chicken Spaghetti started it all.

The key to the goodness of Chicken Spaghetti is the copious amount of sharp cheddar cheese in the recipe. Did you know that you can easily have cheese in your food storage? If not, take a look at the following video:







Cheese is such a major part of our diet that I intend to store a lot of waxed cheese. You can read more about waxing cheese yourself  here.


Chicken Spaghetti and Green Beans Amandine - all from food storage!

Give this recipe a try and tell me what you think about it!

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti, Food Storage Style

1 or 2 pints or cans of chicken, shredded  into medium sized chunks
1 lb spaghetti, noodles broken into thirds
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided  (fresh, freeze-dried, canned or stored waxed cheese) 
¼ cup finely diced green pepper OR about 2 T. dry peppers, rehydrated
¼ cup finely diced onion OR about 2 T. dry onion, rehydrated
1-4 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained
1 can of chicken broth OR chicken bouillon prepared to make 2 cups of broth
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
⅛ -1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Salt And Pepper, to taste (Hold off on the salt if you use bouillon)

Cook spaghetti until just al dente. Combine cooked spaghetti with remaining ingredients, reserving 1 c of the cheddar cheese. Place mixture in a greased 9 x 13" dish and top with the reserved cheddar. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

2 comments:

  1. I hadn't heard of waxing cheese ... But it sounds like a lot more fun than waxing my legs!

    I just love Ree and her awesome cooking/homeschooling/photographing self. I saw her speak and she was every bit as lovely as you would imagine.

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  2. Wow...that is a lot of cheese! How could it not be yummy? Thanks for the recipe...I don't comment very often, but I check your wonderful blog daily. Great job!

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