Alright, so let me tell you about this chicken casserole I whipped up. It’s become my go-to, seriously. You know how some days you just stare into the fridge and think, “What on earth am I gonna make?” Yeah, that was me. Again.
Getting Started – The Usual Kitchen Chaos
First things first, I rummaged around. Found some leftover cooked chicken from the other night – score! I always cook extra chicken just for moments like this. If you don’t have any, just boil or pan-fry some quick; it doesn’t need to be fancy. I grabbed an onion, some sad-looking celery stalks from the crisper drawer (we’ve all been there), and a bell pepper that was just about to give up the ghost.
I wasn’t aiming for perfection with the chopping. No tiny, uniform dice here, folks. I just sort of roughly chopped everything up. The onion made me cry, as usual. Why do they do that? Anyway, tossed them into a skillet with a bit of oil. Let them get a little soft, you know, just to take the raw edge off. Maybe five minutes, while I was already thinking about what else needed to go in.
Mixing it All Together – The “Easy” Part
Once the veggies were done, I dumped them into a big ol’ mixing bowl. Then, I shredded that leftover chicken. Hands are best for this, just get in there and pull it apart. Threw that in with the veggies.
Now for the “sauce,” and I use that term loosely. I grabbed a can of cream of chicken soup. Yes, the canned stuff. Judge all you want, but this is “quick and easy,” remember? Plopped that in. Then, about a cup of sour cream – gives it a bit of tang. A good handful of shredded cheddar cheese, because cheese makes everything better. Oh, and some frozen peas! Almost forgot those. Poured those in straight from the bag, no need to thaw.
- Cooked chicken, shredded
- Sautéed onions, celery, bell pepper
- Can of cream of chicken soup
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Frozen peas
- Salt and pepper, obviously
Gave it all a good stir. At this point, it doesn’t look gourmet, not gonna lie. It looks like a beige blob with some green bits. But trust the process, or don’t, but it works for me.
Baking and The Glorious Finish
Then I greased a casserole dish. Any oven-safe dish will do, really. Dumped the whole mixture in and spread it out. For a bit of crunch on top, I crushed up some Ritz crackers. Butter crackers are key here, not saltines. Mixed the crumbs with a little melted butter and sprinkled that all over the top. Some people use breadcrumbs, but I like the buttery flavor of crackers.
Shoved it into a preheated oven, around 375°F (that’s about 190°C for those playing along at home). Baked it for a good 25 to 30 minutes. You’re looking for it to be bubbly around the edges and the cracker topping to be nice and golden brown. My oven runs a bit hot, so I always start checking around the 20-minute mark.
And that was pretty much it. Pulled it out, let it sit for like five minutes because that stuff is molten lava hot. Served it up. The kids actually ate it without a fuss, which, let me tell you, is a miracle in my house. It’s not fancy, it’s not groundbreaking, but it’s warm, filling, and super easy to throw together on a busy weeknight. That’s a win in my book. Clean-up wasn’t too bad either, mostly just the one bowl, one skillet, and the casserole dish. Definitely keeping this one in the rotation.