Chicken and Dressing Casserole

         A great little one dish recipe that takes hardly any time to make. Another one of my favorites that provides layers of flavors. All made with items you likely have in your pantry already. For those days that are hectic and weekends when there is no time to rest, this is the perfect meal to make for your hungry crew.

            This is a dish that will use up leftover vegetables from your refrigerator, and any vegetable can be included with the other ingredients. A real quick tip before I give you this amazing recipe. I always mix the dressing and hot water before I begin the main part of the recipe.

            This is a great way to use up some of the leftovers from the holidays too. You may have to tweak the recipe a little since your food is all cooked, albeit, separately. It would be no hassle and your refrigerator will once again have room in it.

You could use almost any of the Holiday foods that you have left and get a very similar result to this recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions:

            Can I substitute the chicken for something else?

You could substitute turkey, sausage, ground beef or ham. They will all taste great in this recipe.

            How do I store this?

When it has cooled completely, you can put it into an airtight container and then into the refrigerator.

What do you need to make Chicken and Dressing Casserole

            4 cups shredded chicken

            4 cups cornbread or other cubed dried bread

            ⅓ cup chopped celery

            1 cup onion chopped

            1 can cream of Onion soup

            1 ½ cups chicken broth

            2 tbsp butter

            1 tsp poultry seasoning

            ½ tsp dried sage

            Salt and pepper to taste

Gravy:

            ¼ cup unsalted butter

            2 cups chicken broth

            ¼ cup heavy cream

            ¼ cup flour

            Salt and pepper to taste

How to make Chicken and Dressing Casserole

FIRST STEP:

Preheat the oven to 375*

Put the butter into a skillet on medium high heat and let it melt

SECOND STEP:

Add the onions and celery and saute until the vegetables soften

Place the cornbread, chicken, vegetable mix, sage, poultry seasoning, soup and the chicken broth ( save 1 cup of the broth) in a large mixing bowl.

a)

b)

c)

d)

THIRD STEP:

Stir to combine thoroughly

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and then put the mixture in the dish

FOURTH STEP:

Spread evenly

Bake for 45 minutes

Melt the butter into a skillet, add the flour and using a whisk mix together completely and cook until it begins to brown slightly

a)

b)

c)

d)

e)

FIFTH STEP:

Whisk in some of the chicken broth and add salt and pepper to taste.

Continue to simmer until the gravy begins to thicken

SIXTH STEP:

Stir in the heavy cream and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes

Pour the gravy over the top of the casserole and serve

Garnish with parsley or chopped green onion.

Enjoy!

Tips:

If you choose, add some corn or green beans to the cornbread mix to get another layer of flavor. Hopefully, there is still some pie left to serve after the Holiday. That would be the perfect end with a scoop of whipped topping, to end a great meal.