Makes 8 to 10 servings Growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Renee Flynn learned a lot about entertaining. There were parties for every occasion and for hardly any reason at all. “We threw types of parties that I don’t think they had elsewhere,” she says. Chicken Spaghetti has reliably fed many a Southern guest at countless parties over the years. Flynn’s family has served it at christening luncheons for generations.
1 (5- to 6-pound) chicken
¾ cup diced green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed
¾ cup diced onion
¾ cup diced celery
1 (10-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10-ounce) can tomato soup
¾ teaspoon dried oregano
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 pound vermicelli
1 (6-ounce) can sliced mushrooms
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts
½ cup sliced black olives
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour. Turn off the heat and let the chicken cool in the broth. Remove the meat from the bones and chop the meat.
Combine the bell pepper, garlic, onion, celery, mushroom soup, tomato soup, oregano, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and chicken broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the vermicelli and cook over medium-high heat 1 minute less than the package directions. Drain well.
In a rectangular 3-quart baking dish, layer half the vermicelli, half the chicken, half the mushrooms, half the Parmesan, half the water chestnuts, half the olives, half the sauce, and half the Cheddar cheese. Then layer on the remaining vermicelli, chicken, mushrooms, water chestnuts, olives, and sauce. Top with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes longer, or until bubbly and lightly browned on top.
Makes 8 to 10 servings