Aunt Dorie’s Chicken Cheese-It Casserole

This is a tried and true comfort food recipe the girls loved – who now are sharing with all their friends. Most of the items are shelf stable and can be purchased in advance, on sale 😊

Ingredients:
Chicken (see below ~2 cups/more if you prefer)*
Box of Elbow Macaroni
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom/Chicken/Celery soup (you can mix/match to your taste)
½ can of milk
Sharp Cheddar cheese for grating
Box of Cheese-Its

*Chicken – roaster chicken or whole stewing chicken or 3 chicken breast halves (skin on, bone in) or ~4 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)

Instructions:

Stew chicken and reserve water and set chicken aside to cool.

Boil elbow macaroni in chicken stock from stewed chicken (or water if using a Roaster chicken) and drain when just al dente.

Shred into bite size pieces.

Combine soup, milk and grated cheese.

Grease a 13”x9” glass baking dish. Cover bottom with macaroni and add chicken. Cover with soup mixture.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

Crush Cheese-Its. Increase oven to 425. Top casserole with Cheese-Its and bake until browned. Cool 5-10 minutes and serve.

Two smaller containers are great for a dinner and one to freeze (place Cheese-Its in a separate freezer bag or share with a new family/mother/etc.

For Southern kitchens, you can microwave the base casserole and finish off in the oven so you don’t have to heat up your house 😊