Cheesy Chicken Tettrazini

Cheesy Chicken Tetrazzini

1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 pound mushrooms, sliced (I LEAVE THESE OUT!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half and half or whole milk
3 tablespons dry sherry (I USE COOKING WHITE WINE)
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 pound penne pasta cooked, drained
4 cups cooked chicken torn into bite sized peices
1 1/2 cups toasted fresh bread crumbs


Preheat oven to 350
Melt buter in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add mushrooms (or not!), garlic, salt and pepper. Saute until liquid evaporates, about 12 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually add broth and half and half (I even used 2% once, I make do with what I have! Can you tell?) stirring until blended. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, 3-5 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add sherry and 3 cups cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir in pasta and chicken. Pour into a buttered shallow 3 quart baking dish.
Mix remaining cheese and bread crumbs; sprinkle over casserole.
Bake uncovered, until the sauce bubbless and the top is lightly browned, 35-40 minutes. Makes 8 Servings.


*This is easy and quick to change up to make work for you, as you will notice. Nick calls this fancy mac & cheese.