"Oh Brother" A Chicken Noodle Casserole for #FoodnFlix

This homey, comforting casserole is sure to become a new family favorite.  Easy enough for a weeknight meal and filling enough to feed a crowd on the weekends.

I was inspired to make this casserole after watching the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou" for this month's edition of FoodnFlix.

Food n Flix is a fun club where members take turns choosing a film each month.  Then we all watch the film during the month and create a recipe inspired by the film.  At the end of the month, the host who chose the movie does a roundup and shares all of our posts.  It is a lot of fun and leads to some interesting discussions, reviews and recipes.  I love it because it forces me to get out of my rut and watch movies that I normally wouldn't..  You are welcome to join in the fun.  You will find our Guidelines here.

Our leader, Heather, makes it very easy for us.  She posts all the information for each month on the Food n Flix Homepage.  This gives you the film chosen for the month, the host's name and a link to the host's invitation.  This month Debra of Eliot's Eats invited us to join her in watching "O Brother, Where Art Thou".

So it was with high hopes that I ordered up this movie from the library.  When I picked it up, Frank made some popcorn and made cocktails.  We settled down on the couch ready for a lighthearted fun evening.  After all this movie was directed by the Coen brothers and starred  George Clooney, John Turturo, John Goodman and Holly Hunter among others.  

And......at least I got an amazing recipe out of it.  Oh, and the popcorn and cocktails were enjoyable.  About 20 minutes into the film, Frank picked up his pad.  About 45 minutes into the film I opened my laptop.  It may not have been the worst film ever....but it was mighty close in my opinion.  

But, as I said, I love that this group has me watch movies that are not on my radar.  Sometimes I love them and sometimes not but I always enjoy trying to create a recipe from the films we watch.  This recipe was born of a scene that occurred at the beginning of the movie. 

The convicts escape and grab a chicken as they are on the run.  Other food references that I saw prior to losing interest completely was stew, later learned to be made from horse.  There were canned goods at the grocers. prison food was shown, gopher meat was referred to, and there were frogs.  They were also scenes in a fine dining restaurant and at a picnic.  There was beer, corn on the cob and a reference to fricasee.

I decided to go with the chicken after I found this recipe in my latest issue of Cuisine at Home.  I adapted this recipe quite a bit.  I didn't have any leftover chicken so I poached a chicken breast in some broth.

I removed the chicken from the broth when it was completely cooked and set it aside to cool while I cooked the noodles in the same broth.  When the noodles were cooked, I set a colander over a large measuring cup and drained them, reserving the broth and setting the noodles aside.   

I returned the pot to the stove top, added some butter and sauteed some carrots, onions and celery until they started to soften.

Add the flour and ranch seasoning packet.  Add water to the enhanced stock to make 4 cups and stir into the roux.  Add the cream and the cream cheese.  Cook and stir until thickened.

Stir the chicken and noodles into the sauce and then turn it into a baking pan that has been treated with cooking spray.  Top with buttered cracker crumbs and bake until bubbly and golden brown.

This film is said to be based on The Odyssey by Homer.  I don't know about that.  I'm not very cultured but a taste of this casserole is an Odyssey and will have you saying "O Brother, Where Have You Been all my life" ?

#casseroles, #chicken, #noodles, #creamy, #easy,

Entrees, Chicken, Casseroles

Americah

Yield: 10 servings

Author: Wendy Klik

Chicken and Noodles

prep time: 15 Mcook time: 1 H & 15 Mtotal time: 1 H & 30 M

This homey, comforting casserole is sure to become a new family favorite. Easy enough for a weeknight meal and filling enough to feed a crowd on the weekends.

ingredients:

• 1 lg. skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 2lbs)
• 1 (32 oz) box chicken broth
• 12 oz. wide egg noodles
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, scraped and sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 (oz) pkg. ranch dressing seasoning
• 1 c. light cream
• 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature and cubed
• 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 sleeve soda crackers
• 1 c. shredded parmesan cheese
• 3 T. butter, softened

instructions:

How to cook Chicken and Noodles

1. Place the chicken in the broth in a large pot over med high heat.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside.
2. Bring the broth back to a boil, add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes.  Place a colander over a large (8 cup) measuring cup.  Drain the noodles.  Set the noodles aside.  Add water to the broth to equal 4 cups.  Set aside.
3. Place the pot back onto the stove top over med high heat.  Add 1/2 stick butter to the pot.  When butter has melted add the onions, celery and carrots.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften.  
4. Add the flour and ranch seasoning to the vegetables.  Stir to coat and cook until flour is no longer raw, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the broth, light cream and cream cheese.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer another few minutes until thickened.
5. Cut the cooled chicken into bite size pieces and put into sauce along with the noodles.  Stir to combine and then pour into a 9x13" baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray.
6. Place the crackers, Parmesan, and  3 T. butter into a food processor.  Pulse until fine crumbs remain.  Sprinkle over the top of the chicken and noodles.
7. Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 25-30 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.

NOTES:

Adapted from a recipe found at Cuisine at Home, Issue #137

https://adayinthelifeonthefarm.blogspot.com/2019/09/oh-brother-chicken-noodle-casserole-for.html

Property of A Day in the Life on the Farm

Created using The Recipes Generator