Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Food: Crunchy Chicken Casserole

So I found a recipe for "Crunchy Chicken Casserole" in a cookbook I bought at a book fair at school, and made it a few weeks ago.  It was proclaimed adequate but not very flavorful, and the yield was quite small.  (When I make a casserole, I want lots of left-overs!)  Tonight I modified the recipe, part out of necessity and part because I wanted more flavor.  Here's what I came up with:

For the casserole filling:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 celery heart, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
the meat from two cooked bone-in chicken breasts, torn into small pieces
1 can cream-of-something soup (I used onion this time)
1 soup can of milk
1 cup uncooked rice (this is the risky part; the original recipe called for cooked rice; I added the can of milk to compensate)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
about 1 Tbsp poultry seasoning (I used a salt-free blend)
about 24 grinds of black pepper

Cook the onion and celery in butter until the onion becomes almost translucent; add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Remove from heat; dump into a 9x13" pan

For the topping:
Crush about 2 cups of Cornflakes in a zip-top bag.  Add 1Tbsp of melted butter (cooled) into the bag and squish around until all of it is combined.  Dump this mixture on top of the casserole and spread it evenly across the top.

Bake this mess at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until it's bubbly and delicious.  Remember that you need adequate time for the rice to absorb the liquid.