Monday's Meal

The following recipe is truly one of my signature meals. I've been making this recipe pretty much since I moved out of my parent's home and into my first apartment. It was given to me by a friend of mine who was a resident physician. Where he found the time to cook I'll never know, but it is truly delicious and I've continued to use this recipe all these years. It's great made with either chicken or turkey, in fact I usually will make one after the holidays using up some of the leftover turkey. When I make it for my family I always add a bit more garlic powder and Parmesan cheese since we like a lot of both, but either way it's a nice creamy filling meal. Serve it with some red wine, garlic bread and a green salad and you are truly having a fine meal.

Tettrazini

1 tbsp butter
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 small minced onion
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup of chicken broth
1 (8 oz) pack of spaghetti or linguini
1 lb of cubed cooked chicken breast (or you can use whatever parts you like or even leftover turkey)
2 cups milk
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or more if you're like me)
1/4 cup of sherry (or any dry white wine is fine)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Boil a pot of salted water. Break up your pasta into 4" pieces and add to the water, cooking it al dente. Set it aside (be sure to toss it with a bit of olive oil so it doesn't stick while it's waiting).
Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat, add mushrooms and onions. Saute until evaporated and stir in the flour. Gradually add the chicken broth, milk and cream cheese. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and cook for five minutes more, be sure to stir constantly. Remove from the heat, add part of your Parmesan cheese, stir in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and sherry.
Now stir the pasta and the chicken into the mushroom sauce. Transfer the mixture into a suitable casserole that has been sprayed with a nonstick spray. Top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and cover, bake it for 20 mins. covered. Uncover it and bake for 10 mins. more.