Kid Friendly Chicken Tetrazzini

Submitted by Maggielee4

"I raised one of the pickiest eaters in America, and I couldn't believe she liked this dish! It's wonderfully simple and cheesy, made plain for children or jazzed up for adults. I actually made it the first time, with leftover turkey, and took out the fancy ingredients the original recipe. (to help it pass the kid test!) These days I almost always make it with chicken, with Italian bread and salad on the side."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 lb linguine
• 1⁄2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 dash salt
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth (or 1 3/4 cups)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose white flour
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper (fine or fresh ground)
• 4 cups cooked chicken breasts (diced or torn into chunks)
• 8 ounces pre-shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray a 9 x13 pan with a non-stick spray.
3. Prepare linguini according to package directions, adding the salt and olive oil as you begin. (you may also break the pasta in half, if you like)
4. As that cooks, begin the sauce mixture. In a small pan, heat the chicken broth just to boiling, and set on medium to simmer.
5. Soften the butter in the microwave, using a microwave safe measuring cup.
6. Stir the flour into the butter mixture, a spoonful at a time to create a roux.
7. Keep stirring and adding flour until it looks like a creamy peanut butter or frosting consistency.
8. Add the roux to the chicken broth and stir with a wire whisk. Add pepper, and keep stirring until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
9. After you've drained your pasta, add the sauce mixture and toss the sauce mixture throughout the pasta.
10. Add 1/2 the linguini to the 9x13 pan. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese all over the top of the pasta. Add half the chicken over the top of that, making sure you divide it evenly over the top. Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese. Exact measurements do not matter here, just try to be consistent in dividing ingredients all over the dish. (So each serving gets fair amounts of cheese and chicken!).
11. Repeat the above steps, adding the rest of the pasta, cheese and chicken.
12. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese.
13. Place in oven and heat for 30 minutes.

Reviews

[beantownjulis]

This was great! I used whole wheat linguine, as that is all I had and ended up having to use some american cheese slices and cheese sticks cut up as the cheese I thought i had to use, was well, a bit too ripe :-). threw in some frozen green peas as well and used smart balance for the margerine, I think I need to make a trip to the market! It came out great! My almost 4 yr old picky eater at 3 bowls of it!! it's a little mild for me, but some franks red hot did the job of kicking up the flavor. Next time I think I'll add in some brocolli as my picky eater's twin made me pick out all the peas. :-)

 

[lovingtocookat45]

Used left over turkey and Kids liked it, yet I thought it was rather dry. Will try it again with 2 cans of soup instead to make it more moist next time.

 

[michaelandstephanie]

Tasty, yet mild for the kids. Great use for the leftover turkey I had. Kids liked it a lot & we got more than 8 servings out of it. I added in a few handfuls of frozen peas & some sliced olives before the 2nd layer of pasta, since my kids will eat those anyday. Thanks for a yummy addition to our menu rotation.