Chicken Tettrazini {recipe}

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This was one of the recipes my mom and I made on March 1. It was really good, and made ALOT...

If you're making this for 4, I suggest cutting this in half. This recipe made two 9x13 pans. Yes 2 entire pans. We cooked half that night, and froze the other half in a ziploc bag.

Guess who gets to take it home with them? yep, you guessed it ME. That's one less dish I have to worry about prepping. I'll simply put it in a buttered dish, top it with the breadcrumbs, cheese and butter and bake!

We wished we would have added a few more spices to make it a bit more flavorful, so I added them to the recipe. We also used lima beans instead of peas, and added cream cheese to the mix...we aren't really pea people, but we love our cream cheese! You could pretty much add anything to this mix, some suggestions, broccoli, bell peppers, asparagus, spinach, etc. I would suggest that if you like really cheesey mixes like we do, add more cheese.

I'll be adding a few things when I bake the frozen batch. LOTS of mozzarella and provolone!

Serve alongside a caesar salad with homemade caesar dressing and croutons!

Stay tuned for more delish Italian recipes this week!

Chicken Tettrazini

adapted from Giade De Laurentiis' Chicken Tettrazini with some modifications

Ingredients

9 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 pound white mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk, room temperature

1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature

1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

12 ounces linguine

3/4 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp dried oregano

1 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.

Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, cream cheesse, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

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