Chicken and Asparagus Spaghetti in Creamy Red Sauce

A few years back Wal-Mart created a series of regional cookbooks that featured recipes from their own employees.  Some people would read that and scoff, but the recipes weren't too bad.  Naturally they include heavy product placement; whether this was done by the submitters or done by the cookbook's editors I'm not sure.  The sponsorship also made the cookbooks relatively inexpensive; if my memory serves me, then mine was around $4 to $5.

The 2002 cookbook that I got in Louisiana featured a main dish recipe labeled as Quick Chicken and Asparagus Spaghetti.  It's not a bad little meal, but it calls for cream of chicken soup.  My problem with this is that I'm not a fan of most cream of chicken soups as they contain mechanically separated chicken. Finding a version that does not can be expensive and difficult.  My version of the recipe cuts out the soup in favor of making a creamy tomato sauce.  I've also added a few extra things to make it a bit more robust all around.


Chicken & Asparagus Spaghetti in Creamy Red Sauce
Ingredients:

• 8 oz of dry whole wheat spaghetti
• 8 oz of frozen asparagus spears, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 8 oz cans of unsalted natural tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with chilies, drained
• 8 oz of cooked chicken breast chopped into small pieces
• 1 8 oz package of Neufchâtel cheese cubed
• 1/2 a small bell pepper of any color chopped finely
• Crushed Red Pepper to taste
• Thyme
• Ground Black Pepper to taste
• Garlic Powder or the Garlic Herb blend of your choice

Directions:

1. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Add the asparagus to the boiling water during the last 4 minutes of cooking time.  Drain pasta and asparagus, and put to the side. To keep your dirty dishes at a minimum, use a larger pot and reuse this pot for the sauce. Be sure to either let it cool, or rinse it to cool it off before adding the cheese.
2. Simmer cubed cheese, bell pepper, and diced tomatoes in the large pot over low to medium low heat.  Stir occasionally to ensure the cheese melts evenly and does not scorch the bottom of the pot. 
3. Once the cheese is melted and well incorporated with the mixture add the seasonings and tomato sauce and allow to simmer.  Stir occasionally.
4. When the sauce is bubbling, add the chicken and the spaghetti asparagus mixture.  Stir and allow to simmer until heated through (about 5 to 8 minutes).

Serves 4 to 6