Chicken Finale

A couple of months ago it hit me. If I make a pot or chicken roast at the beginning of the week, I can use the leftovers for sandwich fillings and casseroles. My mother wasn’t much of a cook (I took over the responsibility when I was in junior high school) so I had to figure this out on my own. How did I come to this conclusion (that now seems so obvious)? By looking at my vintage cookbooks.

Our local Ralphs/Krogers grocery store was having a buy one, get one free on Foster Farms chicken. Feeling industrious, I decided to buy four whole chickens, since they were the cheapest and I figured I’d get my money’s worth. Now, you have to realize that I had never cut up a whole chicken before! I used one of the chickens in a recipe that held a lot of promise but turned out disappointing and froze the other chickens.

The following recipe, Chicken Finale, was adapted from a 1958 Good Housekeeping cookbook that was only .39 when it was new. It called for green pepper, which I didn’t have, and butter or margarine, which My Honey can’t have. So, I looked in the fridge for “typical casserole ingredients” and came up with this adaptation.

We really liked how it turned out and I am doubly delighted to say that it is nice and freezable. I was worried about the noodles getting mushy, but they held their own. We had the frozen-left-overs for dinner tonight. Well, we didn’t eat it frozen! I reheated it in a 350* oven after letting it thaw out in the fridge all day.

Chicken Finale

*Exported from Mastercook*
Serving Size : 4

Categories : 5 points, Entree

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method

2 cups noodles

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup frozen peas and onions — thawed

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 can cream of chicken soup — undluted

1 cup cooked chicken

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.
In oil in skillet, saute mushrooms, peas, and onions, until mushrooms aretender; then add soup, chicken, and noodles.
Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

Description: “Adapted from Good Housekeeping’s Poultry and Game Book, 1958″ – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 221 Calories; 8g Fat (31.9%calories from fat); 16g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 50mgCholesterol; 299mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 LeanMeat; 0 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

Serving Ideas : A nice touch would be to put mixture in a casserole dish and top with a bread crumb-parmesian cheese mixture. Bake until topping is golden brown.

NOTES : This recipe freezes well. When re-heating, you may need to add a little more soup to keep it moist.