Rotel Chicken Spaghetti

One of the sad things about this life is that sometimes people come into it for a very brief time and then they leave. Usually you pick up a little something from each person you meet - it might be a life lesson or words of wisdom or it could be a happy memory.. Or, in my case, it's a great recipe that continues almost 15 years after I've met them.

Nicole was an ex girlfriend of my ex husband's cousin. We called her "Red" because she had bright red hair that reminded us of a penny. Red and Mike (the cousin) dated for a few months and they often came over to my inlaws house as we all sat around playing games like Uno and Chinese checkers.  One day, Red brought over a chicken spaghetti dish that I fell in love with, so she gave me the recipe.. Mike and Red went their separate ways and she never contacted us after the fact, but the recipe is still a reminder of our brief friendship in my house.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you. There is absolutely nothing healthy about this meal. Sure, you could try to change it to make it healthy, but why??  That would be like trying to make Strawberry Cheesecake more healthy.  Consider it an indulgence.

This makes its appearance in our house maybe twice a year. When I do make it, I always make a large pot of the sauce and then it gets used for alot o various things: its great on top of scrambled eggs, over rice, thin it down a bit with water and make a cheese soup, put it over broccoli or cauliflower.


Here's what you need  (recipe can be doubled for larger batches):

1 lb Velteeta Processed Cheese
1 can Rotel canned tomatoes and green chilies (I use the original) - DO NOT DRAIN
2 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup water

1 lb.  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

(I am going to be honest here, I've been known to just buy 2 large cans of cooked chicken, or buy a precooked rotisserie chicken and shred it up in this instead of going through the trouble of cutting up and browning chicken breasts.. lol)

1 pk spaghetti, cooked

salt/pepper to taste

Optional: you can add onions, bell pepper and mushrooms if you want. My family won't touch anything with even a micro-smidgen of mushroom in it so we opt not to add anything.

Brown the chicken in a skillet until cooked. Chop up the velteeta into one inch cubes.  Then, take everything and dump it into a crock pot.. Mix together and turn it on low and cook for 4-6 hours, taking the time to stir every couple of hours.  

You can also make this in a pot, however be very careful not to scorch the cheese while doing so. 

Once the cheese sauce is complete melted and mixed, serve over the cooked spaghetti or(you can mix the spaghetti into the sauce as well, whatever you prefer.  Don't even think about the calories  ;)