Cheesy Chicken Rotini

I'm a sucker for pretty pictures. I've been known to buy a $4.95 magazine while standing in line at Wegmans because the picture of the pasta recipe looks so delicious. Then I'll bring the magazine home, realize there is nothing else of value in the entire thing, and cut out that single good-looking recipe to file.

I'm the kind of gullible purchaser that publishers love. And I'm just as gullible about advertisements, which is where today's recipe came from.Basically, this is macaroni and cheese with chunks of chicken and a can of tomatoes. Not exactly gourmet fare. But the picture was just so pretty. So I tried it.

INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups water
3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend We used fresh broccoli, peppers and carrots instead. Any fresh vegetables are fine.
1 can (10 oz.) RO*TEL^® Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEEA^®, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

DIRECTIONS

COOK and stir chicken in large skillet sprayed with Pam^® cooking spray on medium-high heat 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Note: Do NOT cook it through until there is no pink anywhere. Just browning it on all sides is plenty. This chicken is going to stay in the pan for the next 15 minutes- you don't want to overcook it.

STIR in water. Bring to boil. Add pasta; stir. Cover; simmer on medium-low heat 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.

ADD remaining ingredients; stir. Cook, covered, 5 to 7 minutes or until VELVEETA^® is completely melted and vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring frequently.

VERDICT

Wow. Who knew adding a can of tomatoes with green chilies would add so much kick to plain old macaroni and cheese?

This recipe was extremely easy to make, and was on the table in under half an hour. The only complaint was the chicken that was overcooked. I'm trying to figure out a way to get around that next time we do this- probably less cooking time in the first step.

I've included the professional picture along with my snaps. Clearly mine are not as appetizing as the ad. But it's still tasty!

NUTRITION

430 calories, 11g total fat, 6g saturated fat, 95mg cholesterol, 840mg sodium, 41g carbohydrate, 4g dietary fiber, 7g sugars, 37g protein, 45%DV vitamin A, 50%DV vitamin C, 35%DV calcium, 15%DV iron.