Chicken Spaghetti With Zucchini Noodles

This is a recipe from my mother that is delicious, nutritious, and very easy to make! You might notice in the picture above that only one bowl has green noodles… This is important – you don’t have to add zucchini noodles to your dish if it doesn’t sound good! This dish is already nutrient dense. Zucchini noodles are a great addition, but they are not the same as traditional spaghetti noodles. The flavor, texture, and overall feel of the dish might be strange and unfamiliar for some. And if someone in your family is not interested in this form of noodles, then by all means stick with the regular ole noodles and you will still be getting plenty of nutrients.

I like to make most of my casseroles/pastas with a crockpot. The crockpot is easy (if you prep ahead) and brings out the flavor in foods. If you do not have a crockpot, I will share more instructions on how to modify it.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs raw chicken breast
  • OR 3-4 cups shredded chicken
• 12 – 16 oz angel hair pasta
• 2 – 3 cups zucchini noodles
  • either homemade or storebought
  • spaghetti squash noodles are also excellent!
• 2 cans cream of chicken
  • low sodium option
• 2 cans cream of mushroom
• 2 – 3 cups of chicken broth
  • *Sometimes I add one cup of chicken bone broth with turmeric. Totally optional!
• 2 packages of Velveeta shredded cheese
• 2 cans of Rotel (use mild if you want to tame the spice)
• 4 bell peppers, diced
  • I used 2 yellow, 1 green, and 1 orange
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/8 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
  • can always add more or less!
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

*Crockpot (allow yourself 4-8 hours, depending on your crockpot setting).

1. Turn on the slow cooker to the desired setting, add 2 cups chicken broth, chicken, diced veggies, and seasoning (salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic powder).
2. Shred the chicken once it is cooked and keep all ingredients in the slow cooker on warm heat.
   1. It helps to drain some of the chicken broth to shred the chicken. *Drain the chicken broth into a separate bowl and re-use it in the main dish.
   2. If you are not using a crockpot, set the shredded chicken to the side and begin to sautee diced veggies with the seasoning in a medium pan over medium heat.
3. In a large cooking pot, follow the instructions to cook the angel hair pasta noodles. Drain the noodles, and then keep them in the large pot.
4. In a small cooking pot, cook the zucchini noodles on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
5. In the large pot with the noodles, add the cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and rotel. Stir all ingredients together and keep on low to medium heat.
6. Begin to add the shredded chicken and veggies to the mixture while slowly adding the side of chicken broth to create the desired consistency.
   1. If you are using pre-shredded chicken, add the chicken, veggies, and the 2 cups of chicken broth.
7. Add the shredded cheese and continue to stir all ingredients over medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes.
8. Once you’re ready to eat, add the zucchini noodles to your bowl.
   1. This helps the zucchini noodles stay fresh if you want to eat this dish for leftovers later, AND it allows the folks who don’t like zucchini noodles to scoop their portion with ease!
9. Enjoy!