Tips and Substitutions

• Noodle and Pasta Types: I use a low-carbohydrate, high protein pasta in my recipe, but 10oz of most pasta/noodles varieties would work. This recipe is excellent with long or short pasta, egg noodles or amish egg noodles.
• Creamy Substitutions and Options: Regular or light sour cream both work in this cheesy pasta. If you don't like using cream of chicken soup from a can, here is how you can make it from scratch (make sure to double the ingredients below because this recipe calls for 2 cans):
  • Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in ⅓ cup all-purpose flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in ⅓ cup milk and ⅓ cup chicken broth until well combined. Season with ¼ teaspoon onion powder and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and creamy.
• Pre-Cooked Chicken Options: Rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken or freshly made seasoned chicken breast or thighs all work in this dish. If your juicy chicken isn't pre-seasoned, consider adding garlic, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, a dash of Italian seasoning, and/or flaky poultry seasoning to the chicken mixture. Season chicken to preference.
• Holiday Turkey Leftovers: This is a great way to repurpose leftover, seasoned holiday turkey. Use the same amount of turkey as the recipe calls for chicken.
• Topping Options: There are several crispy toppings that work great! A buttery topping of crushed potato chips breadcrumbs, corn flakes, or even crushed seasoned croutons all offer a unique twist.
• My Cooked Chicken: In this recipe's video, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I cooked in the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours in chicken broth with 1-2 teaspoons each poultry seasoning and garlic powder and ½ teaspoon salt.