Chicken Noodle Casserole

Who doesn't love a good chicken noodle casserole?  Granted, in this age of celebrity chefs, it wouldn't get much air-time on a television cooking show unless someone decided to make everything from scratch. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if that hasn't already happened. A couple of decades ago, Alton Brown of the Food Network decided to reinvent the traditional Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole by making it completely from scratch, poo-pooing the more traditional can-o-dis approach.  But it was the Campbell Soup Company that invented the recipe in 1955 as a means to get you to buy their venerable Cream of Mushroom Soup.  I'm betting there weren't ten people that actually followed Brown's complicated recipe.  I mean, why put yourself through all that effort for a modicum of enhanced quality, particularly when you've got seven other things to prepare for Thanksgiving Dinner?  Sometimes, less is more.

True to the Internet recipe blogosphere today, there are all manner of bizarre variations on the original chicken noodle casserole, including, ugh, vegan versions made with soy curls and oat milk - true bastardizations of simple comfort food if there ever were.  I don't get the whole vegan mindset.  Why work so hard to make vegan food taste like normal food and then act all smug and righteous when it does? At least the recipe I read used a Ritz Cracker topping.  See?  Normal food.  Ritz Crackers helped make it taste like normal food.  I found it actually hilarious that this particular recipe blogger used the unfortunate phrase that this was a "dump and bake recipe."  True words, to be sure.

My version here is pretty common among most chicken noodle casserole recipes that includes peas, carrots and cans of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups.  

Incidentally, substitute about 12 oz of canned tuna for the chicken, and cream of celery soup for the cream of chicken soup, and you've got another staple of potluck suppers, the Tuna Noodle Casserole.  It was frequent fare at my childhood Friday night dinner table growing up with a Catholic mother.  Not being allowed to eat meat on Friday was a sanctimonious rule (among many) made up by the power-intoxicated Pope Gregory V in 998 AD, and existed in Catholic Liturgy until 1966.  It took me over thirty years to consider eating tuna noodle casserole again, or fish sticks or grilled cheese sandwiches, for that matter. According to the Catholic Church, I was going to hell if I ate a hamburger on Friday which I believed until I reached the age of reason.  Suddenly when I was 12 years-old and the meatless Friday rule was rescinded by Pope Paul VI, I wasn't going to hell anymore for eating franks and beans while watching the The Man From U.N.C.L.E. 

Go figure.

At any rate, the chicken noodle casserole, or variations of it has been around for a century or more, but it was the confluence of the introduction of Corning's Pyrex cooking vessels and Campbell's launch of Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup in the 1930s that really put this recipe on the map.  It hit its popularity apex in the 1950s and '60s when working moms began embracing simple, hearty meals that appeared homemade, but really were just an amalgamation of the processed food culture into which we have evolved.  

Nevertheless, the Chicken Noodle Casserole is a timeless staple and it was high-time I posted my version. This will make enough for six hungry people, or you'll have leftovers that reheat very well.

Ingredients
1 lb boneless chicken breasts, chicken tenders or boneless chicken thighs, or a combination
2 14.5-oz cans (about three cups) chicken broth (like, Swanson's)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
12 ounces noodles (or egg white dumplings like, No-Yolk)
1 10.5-oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup (like, Campbell's)
1 10.5-oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (ditto)
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed or microwaved for 1 minute
4 tbsp dried minced onions
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dried thyme leaves
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup plain bread crumbs (like, Progresso)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (like, the Kraft green can)
non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)

The Recipe
Cook the noodles according to package directions al dente. Drain and set aside.

Poach the chicken in chicken broth over medium heat with the shredded carrots until done, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the chicken but reserve all of the remaining broth and carrots. On a cutting board, shred the chicken using two large serving forks.

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soups, cream, sour cream, mayonnaise, white wine, lemon juice, the reserved chicken broth and carrots, dried minced onions, thyme, salt and pepper.  Blend all ingredients well, then add the chicken and gently fold in the peas.

Add the noodles to the mixing bowl and gently fold until all are coated.  Transfer everything to a baking dish treated with the non-stick spray.

Combine the melted butter with the bread crumbs.  Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the bread crumbs, then add the Parmesan cheese

Bake uncovered 50 minutes to one hour until bubbly and browned.

Leftovers heat up well in a covered casserole dish for 30 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees.