What’s better in the freezing cold of winter than some cheesy, gooey Italian comfort food? This was a new recipe I tried from a friend who spends WAY too much time on allrecipes.com, and after some modifications, I found it to be superb! This, of course, can also be made with turkey, and goes great with some fresh out of the oven, crusty French bread. Mangiate!
Chicken Tetrazzini
- 1 Box of Ziti (Use whatever pasta you have on hand)
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk
- 4 tablespoons sherry (Cooking Sherry is fine, as is white wine.)
- 1/4 tablespoons ground nutmeg
- 1 large container of cleaned/sliced mushrooms
- 4 Chopped, cooked chicken breasts ( Sautee this in EVOO with about 1 tablespoon of minced garlic for extra flavor!)
- 1/4 cup real bacon bits (You can buy these already chopped up. Use REAL bacon, not hard bacon bits.)
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch glass baking dish.
- 2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, a until al dente, then drain.
- 3. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour and salt. Cook, stirring, until smooth (BE CAREFUL not to burn or overcook). Remove from heat, and gradually stir in chicken broth and whole milk.
- 4. Return to heat, and bring to a low boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly, it will thicken as you stir it.
- 5. Add sherry and nutmeg, stir to mix.
- 6. Stir in cooked pasta, mushrooms, bacon, and chicken, stir to coat.
- 7. Pour a layer in baking dish, top with parm cheese and mozz cheese. Add another layer, top with cheeses, continue until dish is full.
- 8. Cover with foil (You don’t want the top layer to brown or burn too quickly), and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and brown and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
9. Have some extra parm cheese available to top with, and enjoy!
