This past weekend, we had family from North Carolina down to visit; which called for the Jefferson County bunch to come and visit. Naturally, this meant a family lunch was in order. Aunt Wendy brought the salad, I brought the chocolate marble cake, and mother-in-law Carol made chicken spaghetti.
A weeknight staple when I was growing up, chicken spaghetti has been a favorite since at least the midcentury in the South. However, Texas cookbooks have recipes for it as early as 1931, which explains its spicy profile. It’s also quite similar to chicken tetrazzini, another dish I associate with the height of Jell-O salads and bouffants.
There’s something so comforting and familiar about this particular version, which is creamy, cheesy, and as easy as any version I’ve encountered before.
This particular recipe comes from Barbara Breedlove in a Marion cookbook (with my favorite title), Just Eat It, which was compiled by Marion Academy in 2011.
Bea’s Chicketti Delight
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup uncooked spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 (2 ounce) jar chopped pimientos, drained
- 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped
- 1 can chicken broth
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 3/4 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided
Directions
Cook spaghetti al dente, about 9–12 minutes. Drain well. In a bowl, combine spaghetti with the remaining ingredients, reserving 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Place the mixture in a greased 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with the reserved cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
Sipping my fourth cup of coffee, I was listening to and exchanging recipes and food memories over the years—in particular, enjoying the shortcuts in the kitchen.
Canned peaches sprinkled with yellow cake mix and drizzled with butter for a quick cobbler. A Crock-Pot apple pie. Using “a little bit of this” and “a little bit of that” to make something everyone will love; something you can just whip up and leave it alone.
It took me back to countless meals with the same exchanges of little tips and tricks picked up along the way. Some were passed down from generations or discovered in a book or featured on the morning news. Whether it’s a pot roast or pink salad, I couldn’t tell you the amount of recipes I’ve memorized that begin with, “Oh, it’s so easy! All you do is…”
Growing up, I used to think it was magical how an envelope of instant soup or a box of instant pudding could make putting a hot meal on the table every night look effortless. It may not be the way the Italians would do spaghetti, but they’d probably turn their noses up at how much sugar my mother used on regular spaghetti night.
As I started learning to cook on my own in college, I turned my nose up at all these little shortcuts that I grew up with. As I’ve come to appreciate the evolution of Southern cooking, I’ve come back around to these “magical” solutions that shortened the hours mothers like mine spent in the kitchen. Heck, I’d have a congealed salad every time the seasons changed, if the guilt didn’t keep me up at night.
At any rate, you could make this entirely homemade by sautéing some onions or mushrooms (or both) and making a béchamel or “gravy.” Make a roux with butter and flour, brown it a bit by sautéing, and add some milk or cream gradually to thicken. Now you can hold your nose up when you say, “well I made the sauce myself!”
I’ve been curious about using penne or bowties with this recipe. Another shortcut would be to use a rotisserie chicken, if you want to get the most mileage out of your bird. That way, you’ll have the bones to make your own chicken stock.
To make this vegetarian-friendly, just add more onions, peppers and mushrooms in place of the chicken. I’ve seen some variations use some combination of spinach, broccoli or artichokes. The point is, there’s plenty of room to play with this dish—or add “a little bit of this” and “a little bit of that.”
If you have any recipes from your Black Belt kitchen you’d like to share, we would love to have them. Recipes may be sent to greensborowatchman@gmail.com, or submitted by mail to: P.O. Box 550, Greensboro, Alabama 36744.
