A Recipe in Persistence

Every recipe I post is a tried and true family favorite, affectionately known in our house as a "keeper."  Some keepers I've been making for years while others are new additions.  A few became keepers without any changes, deletions or additions, but most recipes require some tweaking. No keeper underwent more tweaking than the recipe I'm sharing today.

My son loves chicken alfredo and, although I've made it for years, he never liked my version.  A few years ago, I found a recipe for chicken alfredo that sounded so good, I went to the grocery and bought the ingredients so I could cook it that night.

I had to tweak the recipe before I even went to the grocery.  The original version called for broccoli, a vegetable my son will not eat.  I omitted the broccoli and prepared the rest of the recipe as directed.  It was good, but it needed more tweaking.  Two years and half a dozen versions later, I ended up with a recipe my family deemed a keeper.

In addition to omitting broccoli, I changed the chicken from boiled -- too bland -- to rotisserie; added salt and pepper; reduced the amount of milk; changed the assembly and cooking directions.  Two of the biggest changes -- using ziti instead of egg noodles and the addition of Mozzarella cheese -- were suggested by my son.

While the ziti is cooking, combine cream of chicken soup with milk, cubed rotisserie chicken, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and Mozzarella cheese.  

Drain the ziti and add it to the soup mixture; stir well to combine the ingredients.

Pour into a greased 2-quart casserole dish and bake until hot and bubbly.

Since I don't add broccoli to the mixture, I steam fresh broccoli to serve either on the side

or on top of a serving.

Normally, I wouldn't be so persistent with a recipe, but I knew I could turn this tasty dish from good into a keeper.  Thank goodness most recipes don't require this much tweaking!  

Chicken Alfredo

4 Servings

1/2 (8 oz.) pkg. ziti

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup (undiluted)

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups cubed rotisserie chicken

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups finely shredded Mozzarella cheese

Cook ziti according to package directions; drain.  Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine soup, milk, chicken, Parmesan, salt, pepper and Mozzarella. Add ziti; stir to combine ingredients.  Pour mixture into a greased 2-quart casserole dish.  Bake at 400° for 30 to 45 minutes until hot and bubbly.

© Margaret's Morsels