The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti

OK, I confess... this is the first time I've tried a Pioneer Woman recipe.  *Hangs head in shame.* However, I've been searching for a good chicken spaghetti recipe and Google led me to her website.  I'm so glad I finally visited her recipe section.  Her recipes and story are truly inspiring. 

I have tried several chicken spaghetti recipes in the past and they all end up tasting kind of wonky- too dry, too soupy or too bland.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who has this problem.  I've never been able to figure out the right mix of seasonings and liquids.  However, this time I fought the urge to tweak the ingredient list and just stuck to the Pioneer Woman's original recipe.

The result was cheesy, creamy, perfectly seasoned chicken spaghetti that melted in my mouth and made the hubs very happy.  Needless to say, I'll be trying out a lot more Pioneer Woman recipes in hopes that they will all be this successful.

Here is the recipe, but for step by step instructions and purty pictures, visit the The Pioneer Woman's post.

Recipe
2 c cooked, chopped chicken
3 c dried thin spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
3 c grated sharp cheddar, divided
1/4 c finely diced bell pepper
1/4 c finely diced yellow onion
1 (4 oz) jar diced pimentos, drained
2 c reserved chicken broth
1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

1. Poach a cut up fryer chicken in salted water.  Pull out chicken pieces, leaving broth in pot, and pull off 2 cups of chicken.  Remove 2 cups of the chicken broth and boil the pasta in the remaining broth.  Be sure to under cook the pasta by 2-3 minutes.  Drain pasta.
2. In a large bow, mix the chicken, soup, pepper, onion, pimentos, 2 cups of cheese, seasoned salt and cayenne.  Stir in pasta.  Add a cup of broth, stir and continue adding broth until the consistency is moist, but not soupy.  I think I used about 1 1/2 cups. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding extra salt and pepper if needed.  Pour into 9x13 pan and top with the remaining cup of cheese.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35- 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  

Source: The Pioneer Woman
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