Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Easy Chicken Tetrazzini

Some time has past since I last posted, and for that I apologize. My life has gotten a bit in the way of my cooking and blogging. My job, where I actually make a living, picked up considerably and has really cut into my personal time, dang it! If I could cook and blog about it all day I would be one very happy old woman. But, alas, I have to make some money in order to cook the food. This may be one of those lessons in how to better organize my time. And I suppose sleep is highly overrated. So, I am going to try to do better...promise.

On to the food. I love the versatility of chicken. It probably adorns our plates at least 3 times a week. I mean, my gosh, it can be baked, fried, broiled, boiled, stir fried, used in soup, salads, casseroles, stews, and its bones used for stock. How good is that?! When whole chickens are on sale I always purchase at least 3. None of it ever goes to waste. I also keep packages of breasts and thighs on hand. I am positive there is more chicken in my freezer than any other type of meat. It even beats out ground beef! That being said, you will probably always see more chicken recipes on this blog than beef, pork or fish.

Now, the recipe. This chicken tetrazzini recipe is probably the best I have run across. It's easy, flavorful and creamy. I found it in the Farm Journal's Great Home Cooking in America. This cookbook is devoted to tracing many of the recipes we use today to our immigrant forefathers. This particular recipe, of course, is attributed to Italian immigrants, although I read somewhere that this really isn't an Italian dish. Oh, well, tastes great anyway. And it is really a great family friendly recipe. Kids even like this!

Ingredients

6 TBS. butter
6TBS. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 8 oz. can mushrooms (stems and pieces) you can certainly use fresh
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
12 oz. spaghetti cooked and drained(reserve 1/4 cup cooking water)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in 3 qt. saucepan. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Add half and half and chicken broth; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken, mushrooms, and peppers. Toss gently with drained spaghetti and reserved cooking water. Turn into greased 3 qt. casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven 30 minutes.


Notes: This could not be any more simple. It's a great mid week dish for a family meal. Add salad, veggie and bread and you are set. My hubby has been making tetrazzini for ever, using a specific recipe. I actually had him make this one and he declared it much better than the one he had been making. So there's an official endorsement. Enjoy!

10 comments:

Angie said...

that looks great, i actually did not know what tetrazzini was. but it looks so easy, i have to try it. we are chicken crazy too, just went to sams and came home with a big pack 2 big pack of breasts and 2 whole chickens.

Karen said...

Angie,

This really is one of those nice comfort foods that we all secretly crave. Let me know how you like it.

sherri said...

Only my first visit here, but from the looks of what I see, you best be posting more often! This looks fabulous!

Astra Libris said...

I just discovered your wonderful blog, and I'm so glad I did! I am looking forward to making your chicken tetrazzini recipe very soon! YUM! :-)

Alisa@Foodista said...

This is one of my favorite dish.I cant wait to try your recipe. I followed you from the foodieblogroll and I'd love to guide our readers to your site if you won't mind.Just add your choice of foodista widget to this post and it's all set to go, Thanks!

Astra Libris said...

Just wanted to say thank you so much for your lovely comment on my blog! :-)

Velva said...

This recipe would be a great mid-week dinner. I love chicken tetrazzini. This recipe is worth a try! Thanks.

Karine said...

It looks sssoo good :)

Anonymous said...

I will make this one day soon. It looks so very good. Uncle Carl

Table Talk said...

I had to stop and leave a comment here, as my husband grew up with Thursday night Turkey Tetrazzini night---a fond childhood memory for him...unlike the evenings they had Salmon Loaf, or Liver and Onions!