Chicken Tetrazinni

This is one of my family's favorite recipes. I got the recipe off of the food network website. I love Giada. She makes fabulous recipes. I took her recipe and made it easier on myself. She would probably be mortified at my adjustments, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

The first thing you do is brown the chicken. You don't have to get it all the way cooked. You just have to brown it on both sides. While your chicken is browning, start a pot of boiling water for your pasta. Cook the pasta a little less than the specified time on the box, it will cook more in the oven. After the chicken is mostly cooked, take the chicken out and add fresh mushrooms. You can add one or two of those little 8 oz packages. I think she uses 1 lb in her recipe. I've done it with both. But you MUST use fresh mushrooms. You sautee those for a few minutes until they are good and tender. Then you add a chopped onion to the mushrooms. It's okay that the bottom of your pan is getting a little brown and crusty.

Let the chicken just hang out for a few minutes while the mushrooms and onions are sauteeing. When those things are almost done sauteeing, add a little minced garlic. I use about 2 or 3 cloves. Then you chop the chicken into little bite size pieces. I do this because I will eventually have to anyway with the little ones.

I deglaze the pan with about 1/2 a cup of white wine. Here's where it gets a little tricky. In her recipe she makes this fabulous cream sauce. I use Bertolli alfredo sauce. I use it because it is easier to just pour that in than go through all of the trouble of making the sauce. If you want to make the sauce, I have done it before and it is very good that way, too. I really can't tell the difference.

Add all of the pasta and sauce together in a 9x13 dish. Add some frozen peas. I use about half of a bag. After that is mixed in the dish, add some italian breadcrumbs and grated parmesan cheese to the top. Pop in a preheated 375 degree oven. Bake for about 40 mins.

This was my plate and I ate it all. I was in the clean plate club so I got my nestle drumstick for dessert.

I promise that your kids will be as happy about this dish as mine were. If they aren't sue me. People have sued over less than this, maybe I should be careful.

**I make no guarantees on your kids' happiness over this meal. I reserve the right to be wrong about how great this meal is.**

I do not recommend ever letting your kid eat this meal with just her hands. It turns very bad very quickly. But this is also another testament to how good this meal is.

That was for you, Elizabeth.