Four Cheese Barbecued Chicken Pasta!



I really love barbecue and the taste of barbecue sauce.  I have rarely met a barbecued 'anything' I didn't like.  Of course, some barbecue is far superior to others and I do prefer my homemade barbecue sauce to the store bought, but I use the store bought sometimes also.

 I had some chicken breasts and I had some barbecue sauce and a taste for pasta of some kind, so I decided to try a barbecue chicken pasta dish.

 The results turned out better than I expected and even the pickiest of eaters loved it.  My husband, who doesn't care for a lot of barbecue sauce flavor even loved it and I ate some leftover for lunch today and it was even tastier.

 Here is what you will need:


3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1 bottle barbecue sauce of your choice
1/2 can or about 1 1/2 cups Coke
10 oz. pasta (bowtie, penne, rotinni)
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 cups cheddar cheese  ( 1 for cheese sauce and 1 for topping)
8 oz cream cheese
6 slices Swiss cheese
8-9 slices bacon
salt
pepper
blackened seasoning
garlic powder


Sprinkle some chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and just a little blackened seasoning (optional).  You only need about three chicken breasts.  I cooked a whole package and will use the rest for another meal.  I am thinking about a barbecue chicken salad...yum! 


Pour 1/2 can of Coke over the chicken.  You can use Diet Coke.  Cover with any kind of barbecue sauce you like.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour.  These were large so I cooked them for an hour.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once cool chop about three of them into bite size pieces.

Cook about 8 or 9 strips of bacon until crisp. 


Make a cheese sauce.  I do this in the microwave.  Melt 1/2 stick butter, add 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, microwave for 30 seconds.  Whisk in 3 cups milk and microwave 3 minutes.  Whisk again removing any lumps.  Add cream cheese (softened and cubed), Parmesan cheese, and cheddar cheese.  Microwave 3-4 more minutes and whisk again to remove any lumps.  It should be thickened somewhat at this point and the cheeses melted.


Add 2 Tbs. of barbecue sauce to the cheese sauce and whisk well.  If you like the taste of barbecue a lot, like I do, you could add 3 Tbs. to the sauce at this point.


Boil 10 ounces of pasta just until it is al dente. I use bowtie, but penne or rotinni would work well also.  This will be a little more than 1/2  of a 1 lb. box.  Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce and mix together.  Pour half of it into a 9"x13" baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Layer about 1/2 of the chicken over this.


Layer the rest of pasta/cheese sauce next with the rest of chicken over this. Drizzle this layer with more barbecue sauce. I just used about a 1/4 of a cup.


Layer Swiss cheese slices over the last chicken layer.


Finish with the chopped bacon and the rest of the cheddar cheese.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until bubbly and the cheese is starting to brown...about 30-40 minutes.


So delicious!!!







7 comments:

  1. Mmmm! I love bbq anything, too!
    This looks yummy!!!

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    Replies
    1. Even my picky eaters liked it! Thanks for stopping in. :)

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  2. mmmmmm, gonna see if i can get away with this, cause i could just drink BBQ sauce from the bottle, lol

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  3. Oh gosh at the calories this must have!!! But it looks sooooo yummy so I am going to have to give it a try.

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  4. My Son and 16 yr old Grandson are going to DROOL over this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  5. Cant wait to make this.. looks delicious

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  6. Could you use Pepsi instead of Coke for this recipe?

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