If It's Thursday, It Must Be....

Chicken Noodle Casserole Night!

I like testing new recipes. Sometimes they're good and sometimes they're not. And sometimes they are tasty enough and easy enough to prepare that they make their way into our repertoire of weeknight family meals.

That's what happened with this Chicken Noodle Casserole, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

How this recipe came to be

I'd always wanted to make a tuna noodle casserole because, well, hasn't everyone eaten one at some point? Not me -- in 30+ years, I'd never eaten a tuna noodle casserole! So I finally looked up a recipe and made it. The dish was pretty good, but by night two (leftovers) I was sick of the fishy taste, so the next time around we used chicken instead and made some other adjustments to the recipe. Our version follows. Let me know if you try it and what you think!

Chicken Noodle Casserole
INGREDIENTS
1 (8-ounce) package wide egg noodles
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 can of chicken (we use the bigger, 12-ounce can), drained
1/2 bag of frozen peas
A few handfuls Planko or breadcrumbs

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine flour, butter and salt. Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined evenly. Add milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens (no more than a few minutes). Add cheese to mixture, and whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is well-blended. Stir in tuna, peas and noodles. Spread evenly in prepared dish. Top with Planko or breadcrumbs.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.