Comfort Food at its Best: Mom's Chicken Tettrazini

Taking a little detour from my usual decorating posts (as I tend to do from time to time;), and while I was cooking dinner the other night, the idea popped into my head to share this recipe with you. I know a lot pretty much ALL of us are busy - either with work, kids, both - sometimes it's hard to find the time to make a home-cooked, hearty, warm-you-to-the-bones, make-you-feel-good dinner. This is one of my very favorite Mom recipes, and it can be on your table in less than half an hour, with just a little bit of prep work. Who doesn't love a cozy comforting dinner that's super easy AND super quick?! I figured we could all use another dish like that to add to our menu rotation. This meal instantly takes me back to being a kid in the dining room of my childhood home, surrounded by my family and lots of love...and just plain makes me feel good.

Dinners at my parents' house were (and still are) good times. My husband has said most of his favorite memories with my family happened around that table. It's loud, it's chaotic, it's hilarious. It's the stuff a family with 5 kids is made of. Before the kids, we'd all sit and linger with coffee and dessert, and talk forever, but now it's more of a "quick, devour this so we can make sure the kids aren't breaking anything" kind of experience. We'll get in the car to go home and say, "Did we even eat?" But it's still a fun and happy time nonetheless.

I have the recipe to Mom's Chicken Tettrazini scribbled on a piece of paper - there are no directions, just ingredients, and I'm not even sure this is exactly as she makes it, but it tastes exactly like hers. And it smells exactly like hers. I take a couple shortcuts, like I use chopped up rotisserie chicken to save time, where she used to poach hers. But again, the end result is the same, so I'm good with that.

Mom's Chicken Tettrazini:
1 c sliced mushrooms (you can omit if there aren't any mushroom lovers in your house, but we LOVE them)
5 T butter
1/4 c flour
salt and pepper
2 c milk
1/4 c white wine
2 c cooked chicken (shredded or cubed)
1/4 c broken cooked spaghetti (I use about half a box - I never measure this one;)
1/3 c grated parmesan (yes, the one in the green container works just fine)
1 c soft bread crumbs

(Preheat oven to 400 degrees)
1. Saute mushrooms in 1 T of the butter.

I should go ahead and apologize now for these not-so-desirable pics...it was 5:30, kids were starving, and I was trying to juggle keeping them happy, making dinner, setting the table, and taking pics of these steps at once. Not enough time to play around with settings or anything - I turned the camera ON and snapped away;)
2. Once they've softened a bit, remove from the pan. Melt 3 T of the butter, then add flour. Cook for a minute or so. Add salt and pepper and milk. Cook for a few minutes, until milk thickens a bit.
3. Add wine, cook for a couple minutes. (see, told you these aren't exactly precise directions;) but trust me, you can't mess this up!)
4. Add the cooked chicken, the cooked spaghetti, and the mushrooms back into the pan.

Note: I already cut up the chicken and cooked the spaghetti earlier in the day, so they're all set to go. If you have that step done, this takes no time.
5. Once you mixed this altogether, pour in a greased (or cooking spray) 13 x 9 baking dish.
6. Sprinkle grated parmesan on top, then bread crumbs (I just tear apart a piece of bread), and dot with remaining tablespoon on butter.

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes (usually mine is more like 20, since the chicken and spaghetti are cold from preparing them earlier). And you're done!

I serve it with either a green vegetable (the kids like peas), or a nice salad and crusty rolls.

Now, I'm sure you won't have quite the strong reaction to this, unless your mom happened to make this exact same recipe when you were a kid;), but to me, when I make this for our family, it's like there's a warm blanket wrapped around us, and all is right with the world. And on a cold winter's night, you can't beat that, right? Ultimate Comfort Food. Thanks, Mom.

Hope you enjoy!

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