Comfort Food

My "patient" has progressed this week from chicken noodle soup to chicken and rice and finally tonight, she asked for Miss Susie's chicken noodle casserole. This request was made in part because she knew it would make enough to freeze one dish for her to take back to the city. She lives where there are probably 37 places that she could order food and have it delivered to her. But when you've been under the weather, none of that food is as good as your mother's.

My good friend Susie gave this recipe to me years and years ago. It is the ultimate comfort food. Creamy and rich and cheesy. Everyone in our family likes it--all the way from Baby Sister to Daddy-O. It is the perfect dish to take to a friend when they need a little help. It is also a HUGE recipe. My largest mixing bowl will barely hold all the ingredients. It will fill a 9x13-inch dish all the way to the top. We usually divide it into two dishes and stash one in the freezer for later. I have made three small casseroles from this recipe. Make it however it works for you. Tonight I filled a square foil pan for the freezer and then put the rest in a 2-qt. oblong baking dish for our supper.

Miss Susie's Chicken Noodle Casserole

4-5 chicken breasts

1 (16-oz.) bag of wide noodles

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

grated parmesan cheese

homemade croutons

Boil chicken breasts until tender. Pull meat off bones and cut into bite-size pieces.

Cook noodles in the broth, according to package directions. Drain.

Mix chicken, noodles, soups and sour cream together. Put into 9x13-inch greased baking dish.

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese, then sprinkle a little parmesan cheese over it. Top with buttered croutons.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

If you are freezing a dish, leave off the croutons. Wrap tightly with heavy-duty foil and freeze unbaked.  To bake, move from freezer to the refrigerator the night before baking. Then uncover, add croutons and bake. You might need to add a few extra minutes. Just check to see if it is hot all the way through.

Today I used boneless skinless breasts to make it easy. I added a can of chicken broth to the cooking water before I cooked the noodles for a flavor boost. (But I don't like the packets of stuff labeled "flavor booster.) 

I don't always use croutons but they do add a nice crunch. To make them, leave a couple of slices of bread out (I stuck them in a cold toaster oven) for a few hours to get stale. Slice into cubes. Melt butter in a skillet, then toss bread cubes in the butter and stir in skillet until lightly browned. You could use buttered bread crumbs instead. 

The weather has looked just like this for much of the week. It has kind of matched the mood in the house. Surely the sun will come out soon.

So Good Side Dish

While we were visiting Mommy, supper plans changed quickly one night. So she whipped Miss Susie's Chicken Casserole out of the freezer. (I didn't know you could cook it straight from the freezer, but it worked. Takes about an hour in the oven for an 8x8-inch foil pan.) And then she made a recipe that her family likes. Brussels sprouts! How many children like brussels sprouts? Who keeps brussels sprouts on hand?

But this recipe was wonderful. If you think you don't like this vegetable, it's worth trying them one more time. These are shredded first which I think changes them completely. I am definitely adding this to my own recipe repertoire. You're not going to believe how good this is.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts   
        ...recipe from Eat, Live, Run

12-14 large brussel sprouts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch sea salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

Slice each brussels sprout very thin until you have a mound of feathery brussels sprout ribbons. Heat olive oil over medium hight heat in a large skillet and saute the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the brussels sprouts and continue sauteing for another 4-5 minutes, until bright green and tender. Add the sea salt and brown sugar and toss together. Finish by adding the toasted nuts.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Thank you Mommy for sharing a great new recipe. Have any more I don't know about?