Easy, Creamy Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs uncooked spaghetti noodles (1 1/2 packages)
• 4-5 chicken breasts (see note)
• olive oil
• lemon or lime juice
• salt and pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (can substitute with 1 tsp granulated garlic)
• 4 small (10.75 ounces) cans cream soup (see note)
• half and half, enough to fill 3 of the soup cans (about 33 ounces)
• water, enough to fill 1 soup can
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 cups shredded parmesan cheese, divided
• 3 cups shredded sharp cheese, divided
• 4 ounces butter, melted
• 2/3 cup dried bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Cook spaghetti noodles according to directions, but remove and drain at least 2 minutes before you normally would, before al dente. The noodles will continue cooking in the oven and you don't want them mushy.
2. While the water is boiling for the noodles in step one, drizzle a large frying pan with olive oil and heat for a few minutes. Add chicken breasts and cook for two minutes, then reduce heat to low and drizzle with about 1/2 cup of lemon or lime juice (whatever you have). Cover and cook another 3 minutes. Flip the chicken breasts over, add the minced garlic, cover again, and cook about 5 minutes or just until the pink os gone. Make sure the liquid doesn't dry up during this time or the garlic could burn. Also, you don't want to overcook the chicken breasts, because they're going to cook another 40 minutes in the oven.
3. In a large bowl, mix the cream soups, half and half, water, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Mix well.
4. Drain the spaghetti noodles and add to the soup mixture. Stir well.
5. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and add to the noodles and soup mixture.
6. Spray two baking dishes with Pam (I used two casserole dishes slightly smaller than my 9 x 12 pan. You could use 9 x 12, but you'll have a shallower casserole. Not an issue ... just fyi)
7. Place one-quarter of the spaghetti noodles in each dish, then sprinkle each with about 3/4 of the sharp cheese. Top each casserole with the remaining layer of noodles and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and sharp cheese.
8. Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs and sprinkle that over the two casseroles.(At this point, casserole can be covered with foil and frozen until you're ready to bake.)
9. Bake @ 350 30-40 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden and casserole is bubbly.
10. Serve with your favorite salad and a pile of crusty, buttered rolls (if you can handle all those carbs 🙂

Notes