Creamy Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole

Kittencalskitchen's Note:

You can prepare the complete casserole ahead and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, sprinkle the topping on just before baking. This complete recipe can be doubled if you are feeding more than 4 people.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 3

• 6 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained (cook until only firm-tender, do not over-cook)
• 14 ounces uncooked ground chicken or 14 ounces ground turkey
• 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (to taste)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 -4 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• pepper
• 3/4 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 cup Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup sliced pitted olive (green or black)
• 2 tablespoons chopped pimiento
• 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumb
• 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or 3 tablespoons margarine

Directions:

1. Set oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
3. Cook spaghetti; drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
4. Toss with 2-3 tablespoons of oil and season with salt; set aside.
5. Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook the ground chicken, mushrooms, celery, onion and garlic over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
6. Add the cooked chicken mixture to the spaghetti and toss.
7. For the sauce: in a small saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter; stir in flour and pepper; stir for 1 minute.
8. Add in the half and half cream; cook and stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until thick and bubbly.
9. Add in the Velveeta cheese and stir until melted.
10. Remove from heat, and stir in olives and pimiento.
11. Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture; toss to coat.
12. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
13. In a small bowl mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and melted butter and sprinkle over chicken mixture.
14. Cover and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
15. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.

Reviews

[Marsha D.]

What a delicious casserole! Everyone really enjoyed it. I just realized that I forgot to had the celery but it didn't matter cause the flavor was still wonderful. We had company to come over late and I had already put the food away and been the in ref. for several hours, so I reheated the casserole and it was actually better the longer the casserole sat. Enjoyed this casserole with Green Bean-Mushroom Casserole (By Paula Deen) and Kittencal's Soft White Baguette-Style Bread Thanks so much for sharing another delicious recipe Kitten :)

[bluemoon downunder]

Delicious! I doubled the recipe so there was some to put in the freezer, and I'm so glad that I did so. I used ground chicken, proportionally closer to three cups of mushrooms and all the other ingredients as specified, plus a diced red pepper and a teaspoon of dried thyme. Since I never use Velveeta cheese, I used a grated tasty cheese, and I used kalamata olives. In step 10, I stirred in 2 tablespoons of creamy Greek yoghurt. To cut down on the fat content, proportionally, I also used only 1 tablespoon of melted butter with the parmesan and breadcrumbs. A really yummy casserole, and one ideal for freezing, which I'll make again. Thanks KITTENCAL for another great recipe!

[Chef #240504]

Makes a lot! It was good flavor but not quite creamy enough for some reason.