One meal in my house that I make more than any other meal is spaghetti. It’s a universal favorite; my kids love it because it’s tasty and fun and my husband loves it because he’s a creature of comfort. I love it because I know that my family will devour it and ask for more, and it’s easy to make! However, instead of preparing the good ol’ classic spaghetti I’ve decided to switch things up a bit with this classic comfort food. While I do love tradition, sometimes I prefer to make some changes and create a more modern spin on a traditional recipe. Making the spaghetti with chicken or even foregoing the red sauce completely for one of my own creation. Not to worry, there’s still tomatoes and plenty of flavor! For this sponsored post I’ll be using the Foster Farms Simply Raised thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breast fillets for my one pot chicken veggie spaghetti recipe.

This recipe has plenty of fresh ingredients, tons of flavor, and even a little surprising kick of spice. The chicken is seasoned with a few of my favorite spices, or what I like to call my secret arsenal. Lemon pepper, smoked paprika, garlic + salt with some dried herbs. This is a flavor profile I truly love, and this is the comforting and familiar taste that my family loves. Due to the fresh ingredients and lemon flavors this would be a great summer meal, but it’s hearty and comforting enough for the colder months as well. Since this is a modern spin on a comfort food classic, I chose to use vegetable spaghetti for this dish and mozzarella cheese as a garnish since it’s naturally lower in fat than other cheese varieties.

The chicken is the star of the show here. It’s on prominent display in this dish and I chose to use Foster Farms Simply Raised Thin-Sliced Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets. Foster Farms Simply Raised is locally grown on the West Coast with no antibiotics ever and 100 percent vegetarian fed. It’s the perfect foundation for your New Comfort Food meals. In fact, Foster Farms recently commissioned a national consumer survey to learn more about what people are looking for in their New Comfort Food dishes. What they found is that Americans’ idea of comfort food is moving away from rich and heavy, traditional comfort foods, and toward recipes that are both easier and healthier to make and that include locally farmed, fresh ingredients. What’s even more interesting is that 80% of Americans are turning to chicken as a staple for their comfort food meals and are prioritizing chicken raised with no antibiotics, hormones or steroids. Also, 68% of those surveyed are a lot more concerned than their mother was about what goes into the food they are feeding their families; millennial parents even more so (75%). More than 80% even said that they choose healthier recipes plus more fruits and veggies in their comfort food meals.

Does this mean that traditional comfort foods are a thing of the past? Not necessarily, but there is a change in the ingredients people are choosing. Many, like me, love to incorporate colorful and fresh ingredients into classic meals. The New Comfort Food has evolved from the traditionally heavy and rich foods to feel-good meals that feature local, fresh and premium quality ingredients, produced with no antibiotics ever. The New Comfort Food is no longer an indulgence, but an everyday occasion – it’s a more healthful way of eating.

One Pot Chicken Veggie Spaghetti Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon butter
• juice from 1 lemon, divided
• 1 1/2 lb Foster Farms Simply Raised Thin-Sliced Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 small onion, cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 3 cups red and orange grape tomatoes, halved
• 7 basil leaves, shredded
• 1/2 cup spinach, shredded
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 12 oz (boxed) vegetable spaghetti
• 4 1/2 cups chicken broth
• shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Begin by heating 1 tablespoon olive oil and the butter in the pot you will be making your spaghetti in over medium heat. Squeeze half a lemon into the oil and butter as it melts. Trim any fat from the chicken, if needed, then season with the lemon pepper, Himalayan salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano and parsley. Once the oil and butter have melted, add the seasoned chicken to the pot and cook each side, about 5 minutes each until the chicken is golden.

Remove the chicken from heat, place on a plate and cover with foil.

Add the remaining olive oil in the pan and lightly saute the onions, garlic, tomatoes, basil and spinach until the onions begin to turn translucent and the basil and spinach begin to wilt.

Add the vegetable spaghetti noodles and the chicken broth, along with the remaining lemon juice and the salt and red pepper flakes. Raise heat just a bit and bring to a boil, stirring every few minutes. Allow the noodles to soften and the liquid to absorb and thicken, but you don’t want to cook it until the liquid is gone.

Once the spaghetti is almost done, remove the foil from the chicken and slice into small strips.

Serve the spaghetti in a bowl, top with the chicken, add a bit of mozzarella and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Enjoy!

What’s your favorite comfort food to recreate with New Comfort Food type of options?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Foster Farms Simply Raised Chicken.