Food is Cheap

Chicken, spinach, and mushrooms, throw ‘em together into a dish and bake it. It’ll be similar to this casserole.

Casseroles are a wonderful thing: they’re usually quick, are great as leftovers, and the ingredients can be anything from broccoli to leftover fried chicken. This recipe combines chicken, spinach, and mushrooms, for a healthy alternative to the cream-of-mushroom soup style that most of us are accustomed to.

You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 1 - 1.5lb chicken
• 8oz mushrooms (baby bellos here)
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1lb spinach (frozen or fresh)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 14 oz (1 can) chicken broth (low-sodium)
• salt
• a casserole crust (see below)

 

 

Using a sharp object, preferably a knife, turn the chicken into small chunks:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Said chicken is browned in a large skillet, then set aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please wash the mushrooms. Dirt and grit are not very tasty.

Slice the mushrooms, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melt the butter in the now-empty pan and add the onion and mushrooms. Cook until everything is nice and tender.

Throw in a few pinches of salt, too.

 

 

 

 

Okay, this next part happened too fast for me to take pictures, but basically:

1. The flour goes into the pan
2. Stir it into the butter to make a roux
3. Slowly pour in chicken broth
4. Stir until thickened

 

 

 

It should look something like this:

This will be the thickener and binder for our casserole.

 

 

 

 

In goes the spinach (cook first, if using fresh) as well as the cooked chicken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transfer to a casserole dish or some type of oven-safe receptacle:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crusty topping can be anything you want: cheese, crumbled crackers, discarded shoelaces, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like Panko, or Japanese bread crumbs, drizzled with a little bit of melted butter. They brown well in the oven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The casserole spends 15 to 20 minutes in the oven at 300. It should be firm, not watery.

 

 

 

 

 

I ate this one with some white rice. It was delicious.

This recipe makes 5-6 servings.

 

 

 

  

Casseroles are a great way to get rid of leftovers, but what happens if you have leftover casserole? Do you make a casserole casserole? An enigma for the ages…

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• Sauced Pan-Fried Pork Chops
• Simple Chicken Burritos