Well, I guess September is going to be a month of chicken and ground beef dinners.  Just completed our monthly shop (yes, I only shop once a month except for fresh produce and dairy).   This week the best sales were on ground beef and chicken so several packages of each were just frozen.

I cooked several chicken breasts the other night to have on hand to make some quick dinners such as this one.   When I saw this recipe for Unforgettable Chicken Casserole on KeyIngredient.com I thought it sounded like something my family may enjoy but I would need to rework it for my family.

I sautéed a diced onion and 2 large chopped celery stalks in a bit of butter to soften them before adding them to the casserole to add more flavor.  I also do not use “Cream of Anything” soups so I needed to make a substitution that would add some thickness to the sauce and add a bit of the chicken flavor.    The butter, chicken, broth, flour, salt and pepper mix seemed to work very well in thickening the recipe.

Verdict:

The family thought it was a nice mellow dinner.   It wasn’t a dish that is screaming for attention but is a nice mellow comfort food.  We all agreed the crunchy onions on top were great and that the bit of crunch from the celery slices gave it a great texture.

Would we have this again for dinner?  Yes.

I served it with a green spinach salad and peas.

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
• 2 large stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 TBSP butter, divided
• 3 TBSP flour
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fat-free half and half, or milk
• pepper to taste
• French fried onion rings

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. In a skillet melt 1 TBSP butter over medium heat.  Add onion and celery and cook until onions begin to turn translucent.  Remove pan from heat.  Place onions and celery in a large bowl and set aside.  Wipe out pan well with a paper towel.
3. To skillet now add 2 TBSP butter and melt over medium-low heat.  Stir in flour and continue to stir until mixture until smooth and bubbly.  Remove from heat and add milk and chicken a little bit at a time.  Keep stirring the entire time to keep it from clumping.  Return pan to heat and continue to cook until thickened.  Add pepper to taste.  Remove from heat.
4. In a large bowl, stir together chicken, celery, onion, cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise and chicken broth mix . Spoon into prepared baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
5. Sprinkle onion rings evenly over top and bake 5 more minutes, or until bubbly around edges. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.