Grandma’s Easy Chicken Casserole

            My Grandma knew how to cook! She always made the best food. It did not matter how much mom tried, she could not duplicate the recipes and make them taste the same. Grandma always said she cooked with love and that was the difference.  I did not believe her until I received her recipe boxx and was trying some of these recipes myself. It was almost impossible to make the food taste the way it did when my Grandma cooked it. Was love seriously the secret ingredient?

            Today I am in charge of recipes. I tweak and manipulate recipes to make them healthier, easier or even taste better. So I opened the recipe box and blindly pulled out a recipe card. Here we have what she called Easy Chicken Casserole.

This is honestly the easiest throw together dinner for a busy weeknight meal. When I make this one, I generally do a double batch, then I can put it into separate dishes and freeze for a later time.

            I do think that my Grandma would be impressed with the slight changes that I made to her recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions:

            How long can I store this casserole?

You can keep the chicken casserole in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.  Keep it sealed in an airtight container. To keep it in the freezer, put it in an airtight container with a layer of plastic under the lid.

            What vegetables can I add to this dish?

You can add mushrooms, broccoli, green beans or mixed vegetables. Any of those will taste really good.

            Can I use a different cut of chicken?

You can swap out the chicken breast for chicken thighs instead. Remove the skin and the bones, then shred the chicken.

What do you need to make Grandma’s Easy Chicken Casserole

            4 chicken breast halves, skinned and shredded

            4 cups of water

            2 cans of mixed vegetables, drained

            2 cans cream of chicken soup

            1 container of sour cream     

            1 can sliced water chestnuts

            1 large onion diced well

            1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded

            1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

            2 tbsp butter

            Salt and pepper to taste

How to make Grandma’s Easy Chicken Casserole

FIRST STEP:

Preheat the oven to 400*

Place the chicken in a pot of water and submerge to cover it

SECOND STEP:

Turn the heat to high

Season with Salt and Pepper to taste and boil

THIRD STEP:

Reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot

Simmer until the chicken reads 165* with a meat thermometer

FOURTH STEP:

Remove the chicken from the pot and set to the side and allow to cool for 10 minutes

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces,

FIFTH STEP:

In a large bowl combine the soup, canned vegetables, sour cream, water chestnuts and cheddar cheese.

Stir until well mixed

SIXTH STEP:

Toss in the chicken pieces and combine

a)

b)

c)

Transfer to a large baking dish and sprinkle the crushed crackers on top

a)

b)

SEVENTH STEP:

Cut the butter into pieces and place randomly on the cracker crumbs

Bake for 30 minutes or until the center is bubbling

a)

b)

EIGHTH STEP:

Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes to set.

Serve and Enjoy!