LG and I have been in something of a rut of late when it comes to dinner. From time to time, I get a few emails containing recipes, or I catch them on social media. Sometimes, I’ll print one off and by the time I get around to actually looking closely at it and considering making it, I’ve totally forgotten where it came from. Anyway, my printer is on the fritz so I emailed the recipe to LG asking him to print it out, no rush. He printed it out immediately and brought it to me. “This sounds good,” he said. So yeah, the incredients I didn’t have on hand went on yesterday’s grocery list. And yes, I whipped it up last night.

Creamy Chicken Casserole

Prep time: 20 Minutes
Cook time: 1 Hours
Total time: 1 hr 20 min
Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients
Cream Sauce (homemade instead of condensed soup)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional–we’re not pepper fans)

Casserole
3 cups shredded chicken (fully cooked)
1/2 cup dry elbow macaroni about 1 1/2 cups cooked (I used other pasta because…reasons. LOL)
10 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables
8 oz can water chestnuts drained
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Topping
1/2 cup Corn Flakes crushed (I used more because I like crunch!)
1 Tablespoon melted butter

Let’s Make It
Sauce
1 – Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium heat.
2 – Add in the flour. Stir or whisk constantly. Cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
3 – Pour in the chicken broth and whisk until there are no lumps. Return the saucepan to the stove and lower the heat. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken.
4 – Add in half and half, milk, thyme, garlic powder, and pepper. Allow the sauce to simmer for 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat and allow the sauce to cool slightly.
**Sauce will thicken more as it begins to cool.

Casserole
1 – Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2 – Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
3 – Grease a 9×13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
4 – In a bowl mix together the shredded chicken, cooked pasta, mixed vegetables, water chestnuts, sour cream, and seasonings. Add the cream sauce and mix until it’s all combined. Spread evenly on the bottom of the baking dish.
5 – Sprinkle the top with cheddar cheese.
6 – Combine Cornflakes with butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cornflake mixture over the top of the casserole. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until casserole is heated through and golden brown.

Caveat: This recipe serves 4-8 people, depending on their appetites. There’s just the two of us so I sort of cut the ingredients to like 3/4’s(?), at least for some of the ingredients, and the picture is what came out of my oven, in an 8×8 baking dish rather than a 9×13. In some ways it reminds me of that ol’ standard chicken casserole recipe, King Ranch Chicken. And yeah, I do have that recipe tucked back in one of my recipe boxes. That said, this is NOT that. Another caveat, I used small shell pasta because LG is not a fan of macaroni. It happens. Anyway, this was pretty easy for a “scratch” recipe and it was pretty darn tasty. Want to know who else thinks this is pretty tasty? Deacon Tate of THE COWBOY’S CHRISTMAS PROPOSITION. Quinn has been taking cooking lessons from her mother-in-law, and we all know Katherine Tate is an amazing cook, so Quinn decided to try making this casserole. Guess what?!?! It turned out. Deacon enjoyed it and when a couple of his single brothers showed up at the last minute, there was enough to share. They chowed down and had nothing but compliments for the cook. FYI, she “cheated” and used Pillsbury frozen biscuits, baking them to go with the casserole. What’s not to love? You get chicken, pasta, veggies, all in a creamy sauce. Since Christmas is on the horizon, I suggest you grab a copy (or reread the one you already have) of THE COWBOY’S CHRISTMAS PROPOSITION to find out how country-music superstar Deacon falls for take-no-prisoner’s Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Quinn Kincaid. Especially since a rare Christmas blizzard interferes with their plans. Fun times. Just click on a pic or the title. You’ll zip on over the Harlequin and you can get a copy there or find your preferred on-line store to purchase it. Are you a fan of “one-pot” meals?