Carla Rice gave me this cookbook as a wedding gift and I love it! The introduction includes a section on what Southerners traditionally serve at all the different holidays and special occasions. I like looking at this to make sure I'm not missing anything when it comes to making a menu around Fourth of July, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.
The recipe I am going to share is called Almond Chicken Casserole. It won first place in the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant Recipe Contest. Danny and Fletcher really like it. (I am still learning how to photograph food so these pictures aren't that great. sorry)
Almond Chicken Casserole
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 (8oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken
Topping:
1 (8oz) can crescent rolls
2/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons butter
preheat oven to 375. Put onion and celery in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. In a medium sauce pan, combine the onion, celery, water chestnuts, chicken soup, and mayo and place over medium heat. Cook this mixture until bubbly all the way through to blend the flavors. Add the chicken. Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.
For the topping, unfold the crescent rolls and place on top of the casserole. Sprinkle with the cheese and then the almonds. Melt the butter and drizzle on top. Bake for 25 minutes.
My Variations:
I cook my chicken breast in the crock pot with chicken broth on high for 4-5 hours. I always cook my chicken this way when I'm using it for a casserole or pot pie. It has such great flavor and shreds easily.
I saute the onions in a little butter or olive oil instead of microwaving
I don't like celery so I omit it from the recipe
I use a can of Cream of Celery instead of the Cream of Chicken soup
I'm not a huge fan of water chestnuts so I use only about half the can
I use a smaller 2qt casserole dish
Enjoy!
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