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Casserole

Chicken Casserole – lightened up!

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I am excited to introduce you to Kim, one of our new contributing writers.  I was excited when I saw her recipe for chicken casserole, because later this week, I’ve got 18 casserole recipes coming to you.  We love casseroles!  This one is a true classic, crunchy cracker topping and all.

I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes, I just need comfort food. And nothin’ says comfort here in the South more than a chicken casserole!

It makes an appearance at every church potluck, it’s a great dish to take to friends who have just had a baby, and it makes a pretty easy family meal. BUT…..the traditional version that I grew up with is loaded with fat and calories, making it a “special occasion” meal instead of frequent “go-to” dinner. After taking a look at the main ingredients of one of my favorite versions of chicken casserole, I decided to lighten that bad boy up….and I am SO glad I did!  It was delicious, and even my kids ate it! (well, 2 out of 3 anyway…which is a miracle around here!)

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3.46 from 24 votes

Chicken Casserole - Lightened Up!

Ingredients

  • 5 cups chicken breasts cooked and cubed or shredded
  • 1 cup fat-free plain yogurt
  • 2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup or homemade
  • 2 cups crushed buttery-round crackers aka Ritz - abt 1 1/2 rolls of crackers
  • 1/3 cup melted butter I use Smart Balance
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth from cooked chicken
  • optional ingredients
  • 1 T lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp celery salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Boil chicken until done. (I like to boil mine with an onion, carrot, a couple of celery sticks, salt & pepper, and chicken bouillon to make a flavorful broth)
  • Let chicken cool slightly and cut into bite size pieces.
  • Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.
  • Stir together the condensed soup, yogurt, and optional ingredients if using.
  • Pour over the chicken.
  • In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, melted butter and chicken broth.
  • Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.
  • Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is lightly toasted and sauce is bubbling.

Kim of Mo’Betta  – I have been married for 13 years and have 3 children, ages 11, 9, and 4.  I started blogging as a way to journal my adventures in the kitchen as I learned to move away from the microwave and boxed meals to cooking ‘from scratch’. Most of my recipes are tailored to meet the needs of my food allergic son (nuts & eggs), diabetic husband, or my waistline!

Loaded Cheesy Potato Casserole

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The credit for this recipe goes entirely to my sister.  She knows how to kick things up a notch or three.

This variation on Hashbrown Casserole includes peppers, bacon, extra sour cream and french fried onions on top.  It may not win any nutrition awards, but I guarantee if you take it to a potluck your dish will come home empty.

Here’s what you’ll need (add a container of french fried onion topping that didn’t make it into the photo):   [Read more…] about Loaded Cheesy Potato Casserole

Chicken Broccoli Divan in the Crockpot or Oven

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This is one of my family’s favorite casseroles and I figured out that it can be made either in the oven or the crockpot, making it very versatile.  I’m in love with my slow cooker.  There are many nights that we wouldn’t be having dinner at all if I couldn’t put it in the crockpot to cook.

[Read more…] about Chicken Broccoli Divan in the Crockpot or Oven

Hashbrown Casserole with a Crockpot Trick

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hashbrown casserole

Ham or smoked sausage is perfect with cheesy hash brown casserole.  The problem is that if you place the ham in the slow cooker with the casserole, the flavor will overpower everything else.

This little trick of using a foil packet for the meat, and placing it on top of the potatoes works great!  One pot dinner, that keeps the flavors separate.

This hashbrown casserole can be baked in an oven or done in the crockpot. It can even be frozen and baked another day.

Gather up your ingredients:

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Hashbrown Casserole with a Crockpot Trick

Ingredients

  • 1 bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • onion chopped fine (about 1/2 a small onion)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or a bit more if you like
  • 1-2 lbs. ham or smoked sausage wrapped in foil

Instructions

  • Stir all the ingredients together.
  • Place ham or sausage in foil on top of potatoes, if you are making meat.
  • Bake in an oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Or cook in the slow cooker 5-6 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.

I know that looks pretty messy. I just mixed the ingredients right in the crockpot. I wanted to have this with ham, but didn’t want the smoky taste to go through the potatoes too much so I used a trick I learned on Crockpot 365. I made a foil packet with the ham in it and placed it on top of the potatoes. Both foods cooked perfectly and the flavors didn’t mingle during the cooking.