Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Ranch's Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd!





Tailgating!

It's this time of the year when I think of tailgating at Texas A&M and cooking at the State Fair of Texas for family and friends!  Each year my happiest moments are serving the recipe of Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd that I have entered below.  It's a definite crowd pleaser and along with a salad, and bread sticks, it's fills even the biggest man up! 
I think the Rotel Tomatoes with cilantro are the big difference in this recipe compared to most others.  It adds a freshness and zing that I don't taste in other recipes.  It's a dump recipe at best and if you don't have a large roaster pot - it's a must have.  I recently made an East Texas styled pork roast and sweet potatotes in it that vanished quickly!  Spray  your pan down with Pam or grease it good so your clean up won't take so long!  Always make sure to dry the pans in these roasters, as with scratches they will rust. 

I hope you enjoy this simple dish as much as my friends in our Texas Hereford Associaton do and my local FFA group!  I haven't yet made this at a tailgate, but am looking at the Texas A&M vs. Nebraska game to serve this to a few Aggies I know!
This is my huge double recipe...you can easily cut this in two!

Enjoy!


Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd


12 chicken breast, cooked and cubed (can used canned chicken and/or precooked chicken breast or thighs) 

4 large packages spaghetti noodles, broken into thirds

4 cans Hunts 4 Cheese Spaghetti Sauce or any brand will do!

4 cans Rotel Tomatoes with Cilantro

2 lg. containers chicken broth

2 lg. family sized mushroom soups

2 can’s cream of celery soups

2 large - 2 lb. packages of Velvetta Cheese (no light), cubed

*Optional – 2 – 4 large onions

Salt, pepper, and additional water to cover

Spray large roaster with Pam or oil.  Halve ingredients between two roasting pans.  Place sauce, Rotel tomatoes, chicken broth, mushroom soups, celery soups, onions and water to 6 inches from the top in the two roaster.  Bring to a boil.  Add 1 package of noodles (breaking noodles into thirds – I prefer the thin spaghetti) at a time and allow each package to soften some before adding the next.  Break apart the spaghetti with a fork to make sure the pasta does not stick together as you boil it.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add chicken.  Continue cooking on medium to high heat. 
***Add cubed Velvetta cheese the last 30 minutes as it will stick horribly if added earlier. 

Get cooking!

Alise Nolan




3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds great! Can't wait to try this! About how long does this take to cook altogether?

Unknown said...

How many does this feed? I'm cooking for 50...

The Ranch Kitchen said...

It will take around 1 and 1/2 hours. And it will feed about 35 - people if they get about 1 1/2 cups per person.