Baked Chicken Casserole

Baked Chicken Casserole

Serves 8-10.

This is a good recipe when you want an easy, casual meal that feeds a crowd and won't have you stuck in the kitchen preparing it. Make it before you need it, and when the time comes, throw it in the oven. You'll have dinner in an hour.

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

14 oz. pkg egg noodles

1 T. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup (or use another cream of chicken)

4 T. sour cream

Salt and pepper, to taste

1.5-2 cups topping of your choice (corn flakes, bread crumbs, crushed buttery crackers, etc.)

4 T. (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add garlic, celery, and onion, and cook until soft and fragrant. Take off of heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, cook egg noodles according to directions on the package. Drain.

In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken and noodles with cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups. Mix in sour cream and garlic/celery/onion mixture.

Arrange in a 13x9 baking pan, and top with Corn Flakes, or other topping of your choice. Pour melted butter overtop, and bake for 30 minutes.

A Note From The Little Lady: If you want to make this ahead of time and refrigerate prior to baking, increase baking time to 1 hour. If you're in a total rush, I've found that you can also get away with not pre-cooking the garlic/celery/onion mixture. Instead, just toss them in with the other ingredients. The extra 30 minutes in the oven will assure that they come out soft and cooked through.