HOME & GARDEN CONSUMER GUIDE

A Meal To Cook Once, Serve Twice

Spaghetti Chicken sounds like a four year-old exclaiming the name of his or her favorite meal. I created this versatile creation in the days when sharing the rent and grocery bills with a roommate was a necessity. It remains a favorite comfort food, convenience food and cost-saver, all still necessary on occasion.

Convenience first. Spaghetti Chicken is a one-pot that you cook once and eat twice. Well, maybe it is a three-pot dish, if you include the skillet for making the chicken, a pot for boiling the spaghetti and a saucepan for the soup I make from the rest of the chicken. As for its economic virtues, not only are the ingredients inexpensive, but it lets you use about one and one-half pounds of chicken to feed four, twice.

As comfort food, pasta topped with savory, homemade sauce, studded with mushrooms and freshly cooked chicken, rates high at my house. I usually use the leftover white meat in soup, most often a chicken-and-vegetable combo with beans, rice, or both – comfort food, again.

Good eating, as in healthy, is another virtue of this dish. It provides lean protein for two meals. And it works equally well with whole-wheat or regular, semolina pasta. Sometimes, I use rice instead, preferably brown, or spoon the chicken and sauce over polenta.

Spaghetti Chicken also provides one to two servings of vegetables, along with grain and chicken the first time around. It can include whatever you choose the second time around. If you like, increase the amount of vegetables. As for seasoning, anything goes, including fresh herbs, chili powder, or sun-dried tomatoes. I have even added a touch of curry powder or cinnamon, which give this down-home dish an ethnic note.

Spaghetti Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

• 1 split (2 halves) skinless chicken breast, with ribs
• 4 skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 lb. crimini or white mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 can (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 oz. spaghetti or linguini, preferably whole-wheat
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) freshly grated Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Brown chicken, turning pieces, so it colors on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Heat oil in the pan. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent, 4 minutes. Add mushrooms. Sauté until moist, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and their liquid, oregano, basil and pepper flakes, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return chicken to skillet. Cover and simmer until chicken is white at the bone when cut with a sharp knife, about 40 minutes, turning it after 25 minutes.

Transfer chicken pieces to a plate. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones. There will be about 8 ounces white meat and 6 ounces dark meat. Set aside dark meat for Chicken Spaghetti. Cover the rest, and refrigerate, to use in soup or salad.

For Chicken Spaghetti, cook 4 servings of pasta. If necessary, reheat sauce. When hot, add reserved shredded chicken. Spoon sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with cheese, and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 386 calories, 9 g. total fat (3 g. saturated fat), 54 g. carbohydrate, 23 g. protein, 6 g. dietary fiber, 402 mg. sodium.

By Dana Jacobi for the American Institute for Cancer Research
“Something Different” is written for the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) by Dana Jacobi, author of The Joy of Soy, and recipe creator for AICR’s Stopping Cancer Before It Starts.