So, we had a bunch o’ Turkey Casserole left over from dinner – it makes a lot anyway, and there’s just the two of us – but those leftovers, while not bad, exactly, were just wicked blah, and the thought of more of the same for lunch lay heavy on my mind.
Then, I thought again about my Aunt Buzz’s Swiss Chicken Casserole, which, on review, involved many similar ingredients, just adding mayonnaise, milk, and quite a lot of Swiss cheese.
I decided that a bit of tweaking was in order.
Buzz’s original recipe is simple:
•4 cups diced cooked chicken
•2 cups diced celery
•2 cups bread cubes
•1 cup mayonaise
•1/2 cup milk
•1/4 cup diced onion
•1 tsp salt
•Dash pepper
•8 oz. Swiss cheese – cut in thin strips
I gathered my casserole and set to work.
I was out of celery, and didn’t feel like running to the market early for that that, so I adapted a bit and combined the Swiss cheese and the mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon of celery seed.
I also had just a bit of buttermilk in the fridge, so combined 1/4 cup of that with 1/4 cup water, and added that to the mayo mixture, in place of the 1/2 cup regular milk called for.
I then turned the leftover casserole into the mixing bowl and folded the whole lot together. I didn’t add onion, salt, or pepper called for, since I had already seasoned the casserole.
If you’re making Buzz’s original recipe, the steps are much the same – combine everything together in a bowl, then turn into a well buttered casserole. I had a knob of butter left from greasing the casserole, so just added it on top.
Cover and bake in a heated 350º oven for 30 to 40 minutes – if you make it ahead and stash it in the fridge, 50 minutes.
I did mine for 40 minutes, then pulled the cover off and popped it in for another 5 minutes to crisp up the top a bit.
Done! And Oh! so tasty! Rich went back for seconds at lunch, and, truth be told, so did I.