this is sort of a pantry dish, easy weeknight dinner.  i have to be honest, when i cooked this i did not have high hopes for it. when i served it to the IM he surprised me with one of the most fantastic responses.  he said it was “the best of these kind of dishes you’ve ever made!”. yup. a great casserole!

by the way… for my vegetarian friends, just double the mushrooms and skip the chicken. 

here you go, recipe for: chicken and mushroom casserole!

INGREDIENTS:
about a pound of boneless, skinless chicken
1 cup of fresh mushrooms
1/2 large white onion
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of butterr
a handful of fresh parsley 
1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup of heavy cream
salt & pepper
pasta noodles (i used rigatoni, but anything works)
1 large lemon

NOT PICTURED, BUT STILL IMPORTANT:
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
worcestershire sauce 

INSTRUCTIONS:
cut up the chicken into similar sized chunks. 

season the chicken with the juice from the lime, a tablespoon of worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  set the chicken aside to marinate for at least 2 hours.  

when you are ready to start cooking give the onion and mushrooms a quick chop.

chop up the garlic and parsley. 

melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet

cook the chicken in it

make sure to cook the chicken throughly and then put it on a plate and keep warm.

save the leftover liquid from the chicken.  and return the skillet to the stove on medium heat.

add the onion and garlic and a little bit of the chicken broth (about 2-3 tablespoons). cook the pasta in boiling water. 

once the onions become translucent add the mushroom and parsley.  add also the remaining chicken broth. if your chicken did not let off any liquid just use water.  anyway… add the mushroom and parsley. 

mix that well and season with a teaspoon of pepper

cook the mushrooms for about 10 minutes.  add the chicken.

mix the chicken and mushrooms, lower the heat and cover.  cook for another 5 minutes.  meanwhile, the pasta should be cooked by now.  do not overcook it, al dente is perfect.  drain the pasta.  

mix the noodles, chicken and mushroom mixture in a large pot (i used the same one in which i boiled the pasta).

add the cream of mushroom soup.

and the heavy cream

mix everything until the noodles are coated.  i didn’t have parmesan cheese, but if you have some add it now.  taste it to make sure it does not need any salt or pepper.

and if you are me, take pictures of the pretty pot… also, heat up the oven to 300 degrees.

pour everything onto an oven safe dish. 

fun fact: i was not sure if this pretty red dish was oven safe so i put a baking sheet under it… just.in.case.

sprinkle and cover with panko bread crumbs.

bake on the hot oven until the panko is golden

once out of the oven serve yourself a plate of awesome casserole. use some parsley to garnish. 

by the way, this dish makes for awesome left-overs! 

here i go again, taking random pictures. it is a problem. sorry. 

i really hope you try making this dinner. 

thank you for stopping by!!