Red Sauce Chicken Spaghetti

This was our dinner tonight:

We had a salad with Homemade Croutons, Italian Garlic Toast, & Red Sauce Chicken Spaghetti. NO, I did NOT eat everything on my plate....my eyes were DEFINITELY bigger than my stomach!

 

The main dish tonight was inspired by this dish: 

The Pampered Chef Chicken Parmesan Soup.....but I didn't make it as a soup or exactly like the recipe said. I put a Tasha spin on it based on what I had here. Notice the croutons are in/on the soup.

 

Ingredients

(as listed for the soup & what I actually used)

1/4 of a loaf of French bread

2 tbsp olive oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

3 tbsp Pampered Chef Garlic & Herb Rub, divided (I didn't have this, but I did have Pampered Chef Parmesan-Garlic Oil Dipping Seasoning)

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 cups marinara sauce (I made my own...more on this in a minute)

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with garlic & onion, undrained

2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken breast (I had some left-overs from fried chicken breast the other night)

3 garlic cloves

1 oz fresh Parmesan cheese (yea, I cheated & used what was in a bag)

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

 

 

My Marinara Sauce is simple (I make it cause I haven't found a store-bought one I really like....I'm a little spoiled to actual homemade....this is as close as I  can get): 

1/4 cup Tastefully Simple Mama Mia Marinara Sauce

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Combine these 2 ingredients in a saucepan; whisk to blend. Bring to a low boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 10 minutes. (SUPER simple & I like the way it taste....not the best, but definitely not the worst).

 

1. Croutons (remember, these ingredients were listed above): 

Cut bread into cubes (should have about 2 cups). Toss bread cubes, oil, & 1 tbsp of the rub in the Deep Covered Baker [side note: I LOVE this product from The Pampered Chef....you can cook tons of stuff in it in the oven or microwave. And the stuff from the microwave taste normal, not nasty. And your Pampered Chef Consultant can give you tons of recipes for this thing]. Microwave bread cubes, uncovered, on HIGH 3-4 minutes or until they begin to brown, stirring every minute. Spread croutons over a piece of Parchment Paper to cool.

Now remember, the croutons are in/on the soup. But, I have issues with soggy croutons/bread, so I just made the croutons & used them on the salad.

 

 

2. Stir stock, remaining 2 tbsp rub, marinara sauce, tomatoes, chicken (notice I used about 3 cups...nothing wrong with more chicken), & garlic pressed with Garlic Press [love this Pampered Chef product too!] into baker (yes, the same one I just did croutons in). Microwave, covered, on HIGH 11-13 minutes or until soup is hot. Grate Parmesan using a fine grater (or you get to skip that little part if you're like me & use out of the bag). Carefully remove baker from microwave & stir in Parmesan.

 

 

3. Top soup with half of mozzarella (not pictured here) & sprinkle with half of the croutons (if using in/on the soup). Top with remaining mozzarella. Let stand, covered, 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve soup with remaining croutons.

 

 

 

Now this stuff is good, but the time I've eaten it as a soup, I was still hungry. So I decided when I made it again, I would serve it over noodles as a Red Sauce Chicken Spaghetti.

 

And what goes better with Spaghetti than a salad (with homemade croutons) & Italian Garlic Bread?!?!? 

I sliced some of the loaf French bread, put butter on it, sprinkled Tastefully Simple Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning on it, & broiled it until it was toasted. The 2 pieces without the seasoning were for the girls....they aren't a big fan of it.

 

So, this was our dinner tonight: