The Pasquotank Plate
Many, many years ago my aunt gave me a copy of a cookbook called The Pasquotank Plate. It contains a lot of the usual suspects you would expect to find in a southern cookbook. Casseroles, Tomato Aspic, desserts of course, more casseroles. And I’ve made several of the recipes in the past, but it had been a long since I looked through the book and cooked from it. One day I was craving a good southern comfort dish and the ‘Cheesy Chicken’ recipe came to mind, which was always my favorite.
It’s kind of like a casserole, but doesn’t look or taste like a typical casserole with a mashup of food groups, something my family doesn’t like. So this was perfect. The casserole for anti-casserole people. That is, if you aren’t a Cream of Soup hater. And let’s face it, if you eat Chick-fil-a nuggets, you’re already eating those ingredients anyway! I’ve tried making a homemade mornay sauce, but it just isn’t the same. So, only a few ingredients and you can assemble this ahead of time and boom. Done.
How I changed up the original: This calls for 4 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, split (so 8 servings). I only use 4 chicken breast halves since there are 3 of us, and it gives us a lot of extra sauce, which is my favorite part. I’ve also added olive oil in order to prevent the butter from burning. The recipe calls for mixing a cup of cheese into the sauce, but I also add an additional cup of shredded cheese on top. Just because. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
Boneless skinless Chicken breasts halves (use between 4-8 depending on how many people you are serving)
Kosher salt & pepper
All-purpose flour, about a cup
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 10 1/2 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated by hand
1 8 ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained (you can use a 4oz can if you prefer less mushrooms)
Directions:
Salt & pepper the chicken breasts and lightly coat with flour, shaking off the excess. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and once heated, add the butter and olive oil. Heat until the butter has melted and then add the chicken breasts to the pan, working in 2 batches if needed so you are not crowding the pan. Crowding = steaming and you want browned chicken! Don’t touch them for at least 3 minutes to allow them to brown, regulating the heat if the pan is too hot. Turn and cook the other side for another 3-4 minutes until brown. You’re not cooking them the whole way through, just developing color and flavor. Remove from the pan and place in a casserole or pyrex dish. Leave butter in the pan.
Add soup to the pan and heat until it is bubbling, stirring constantly. Season with a pinch of salt & pepper. Add mushrooms and stir to combine and bring back up to a bubble. Turn off the heat and add 1 cup of cheese and stir until melted.
Pour sauce over chicken. Add remaining cup of shredded cheddar to the top and cover with foil. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until it is bubbling around the corners. Serve over white rice.
*If making ahead, let the assembled (not baked) casserole cool completely before adding the 2nd cup of cheese to the top, cover with foil and keep in the fridge. Then, 30 minutes to an hour before baking, take it out of fridge and let it come to room temperature. Bake as directed. I’ve never frozen this, but think it would be fine as long as you thaw completely before baking.
**You can cut the chicken into chunks before breading if you want to make it more kid-friendly.