Chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe
I have to admit, my mouth is watering & it’s a bit cruel as I can’t eat the delicious dinner that we made…but, such is life for me right now. And that’s OK, it’s a season. =) The family loves this & it’s one of our favorite meals. (On a positive note, I successfully went to Pizza Ranch yesterday with the family for Keira’s birthday celebration & didn’t eat anything! Yay!)
For some reason, the recipe has only been in my head & not written down, and since I’m taking the time to type up the recipe for my family, I wanted to share it. For our family, we make 2 huge 9×13 glass pans (ok, one is 10×15), because we eat at least a whole one in one sitting & like it as leftovers. If you want less, you can easily make half the batch.
We often have a random leftover chicken breast or part of a rotisserie chicken, and freeze it (cut up, to make it easier) for when we need it. We also like to cook extra spaghetti noodles to have on hand for making this casserole, or if we have extra noodles, we freeze them for when we’re ready to make the casserole. You could also make the full batch & freeze one casserole for later as it freezes beautifully. If you have leftover turkey, use that instead of chicken. Both are equally delicious.
Chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini
Makes 2 large 9″ x 13″ or 10″ x 15″ casseroles
48 oz thin spaghetti noodles, cooked
1/2 a rotisserie chicken, or 2-3 large cooked chicken breasts, cubed (you can adjust to add more chicken if that’s your preference. We usually go light on the chicken to help spread it a bit farther)
3-4 Cups of shredded cheese (colby jack or cheddar, any combination works)
The roux:
1 1/2 C butter
2 1/2 C flour
8 C milk
Make a basic roux by melting the butter, add in the flour, whisk together, then add the milk, stirring constantly. When it starts to thicken, take it off the heat & add 2-3 tsp salt to taste (you want the roux to be pretty salty so that it makes the casserole flavorful). Add 1 cup of cheese to the roux & mix. If you like a bit of heat, add in 1/4 – 1/2 tsp + of cayenne pepper, again to taste. Grant & I like the heat, the kids – not so much, so we add a bit extra to one of the casseroles.
I used to also use the Ranch dip mix to give extra seasoning, but stopped using it because of the extra preservatives. If you don’t mind it, it adds wonderful flavor or you can make your own. 🙂
Mix the noodles, chicken & roux in the casserole dish and sprinkle the cheese over the top.
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until bubbly & golden.
