A month ago, one of my husband’s co-workers had a baby. Once I heard the baby was finally here, I knew immediately that we needed to get a meal over to their family. I know what a difference those meals that showed up at our house after Little Man came – it was nice to open the door and have a fridge full of homemade meals.
Growing up, my mom always jumped on taking food to others so quickly. Food really is the way she loves people and I’ve seen her pull things out of the pantry and freezer and magically make a miraculous meal. I’ve also been with my folks when they go by the deli at the grocery store or drive-through KFC and get a quick meal at the last minute. I’ve seen them take a homemade treat to someone sitting in a surgery waiting room and I’ve been with them when they planned a funeral meal.
It’s crazy how in those critical life moments, it’s so nice to not worry about food or taking care of our family.
I thought about all the different things I could take this sweet family and landed on Chicken Spaghetti. Even if I hadn’t had most of the things already on hand, this meal is one of the easiest weeknight dinners, potluck winners, or meals to take and share love.
Growing up, my mom made my grandmother’s version of chicken spaghetti, and it wasn’t my favorite. But, when I moved to Arkansas and got to know all the lady cooks that were taking care of me in a small group each week, I learned this amazing recipe for Chicken Spaghetti and I finally got one of them to teach me the secrets that always made her’s taste so much better than anyone else.
If you love these types of recipes, you will probably also like
- Shortcut Lasagna – perfect for a crowd, weeknight dinner at home, make-ahead meal on holiday weekends, or to take to another family
- Swiss Steak or Stroganoff in the Slow Cooker
- Easy Herby Chicken Pot Pie or the Naked Version
- Stacked Enchiladas stuffed full of extra veggies that will feed and army of people
Arkansas Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- water to cover
- 1 Sazon seasoning packet
- 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
- 2 pound block Velveeta cheese
- 1/2 cup chicken stock/noodle water
- 1 pound thin spaghetti
- 1 cup cheddar or Monterey jack mix cheese
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a stockpot and cover with water.
- Add sazon to water.
- Bring water to boil.
- Once water is boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove chicken from water and set aside on cutting board or in a bowl.
- Bring chicken stock back to a boil.
- Put noodles in water and cook for 10 minutes.
- Chop chicken into bite-sized chunks.
- Chop Velveeta cheese into cubes.
- Drain noodles, reserving chicken stock.
- In a stockpot, mix together diced tomatoes, creamed soup, and Velveeta cheese.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring so the cheese does not burn.
- Once the cheese is melted, stir in chicken cubes.
- Stir in noodles.
- Stir together all ingredients and turn out into 9×13 baking dish.
- Pour ½ cup chicken stock over top of noodle mixture.
- Sprinkle top with 1 cup cheese.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350, then remove foil and cook for 10 more minutes. – or- Store in refrigerator or freezer.
- If cooking from cold, cook for 30 minutes with foil on and then remove the foil and cook for 15 minutes.
Notes
- season the water with Sazon
- cook noodles in chicken stock water
- Save water to put in the spaghetti and store as chicken stock for soups or other recipes.
- thin spaghetti vs other noodles. But, a macaroni or cavatappi could be really good too.
Other meals that are great to take:
- Shortcut Lasagna – send with a Ceasar salad kid and garlic knots
- Crockpot Gumbo – send with a couple of packages of Uncle Ben’s 90-sec rice
- Easy Herby Chicken Pot Pie – send with a salad
- Green Chile Chicken Chili – send with chips and salsa
- Goulash – sides of green beans, bread, or salad
- Turkey Breakfast Muffins – great extra so they have breakfast covered too
- Southwest Egg Bake – great for breakfast or breakfast for dinner, send fruit and English muffins
- Shepherds Pie with Leftover Roast – it’s one big meal, maybe a salad kit
- Baked Ham Sandwiches – send with chips or fruit
- Roast with Carrots and potatoes
- Zucchini Bread
- Lemon Pudding Pound Cake
- Mexican Chicken Stew
- Bucket of Chicken and sides
- BBQ and sides
- Fajitas from their favorite local Mexican food place
- Have pizza delivered
- Take them a Meal ideas
- Crockpot Freezer Meals
I learned so many things about hospitality from ladies in Arkadelphia who opened their homes up to us college kids! And two of my still-favorite recipes (to eat ourselves AND take to others) are the sweet and salty green beans and a strawberry cake. I remember thinking I couldn’t graduate from college without knowing how to make those for myself. And come to think of it, I think maybe both of those dishes were served alongside chicken spaghetti. Can’t wait to try this one!
yes, I know the strawberry cake, my grandmother used to make it. Actually, we say that cake is the reason my dad married my mom. And, I know the green beans too. They are actually on my menu for this Saturday night!