Back in the day, Swiss Chicken Casserole was a mainstay dinner at my Aunt Buzz’s house; and it was always welcomed. Well except for my dad, who did not eat chicken.
Aunt Buzz would use poached chicken breasts, but I’ve been known to use leftover Popeye’s turkey (a fave way to use up leftovers, especially with Cranberry Relish on the side).
For this batch, I marinated some boneless, skinless chicken thighs, then air fried them.
INGREDIENTS
•4 cups diced cooked chicken
•1 cup diced celery
•1 cup diced onion
•2 cups bread cubes
•1 cup mayonnaise
•1/2 cup milk
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce, or your fave hot sauce, to taste
•1 tsp black pepper
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 tsp parsley
•1/4 tsp salt
•8 oz. Swiss cheese – cut in thin strips
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Note: Aunt Buzz would not have approved of my marinated chicken, or the Sherry Peppers and hot sauce addition, but, you do you and include them or not.
Heat your oven to 350º and apply cooking spray to a baking dish.
Whisk the mayonnaise together with the milk, Sherry Peppers, hot sauce, and seasonings in a large bowl, add the chicken, bread cubes (stuffing mix works a treat), onion, celery, and cheese, then toss to combine.
Transfer to your prepared baking dish, then cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover than bake for another ten minutes to crisp up a bit.
Note: you can make the casserole the day before, then cover and stash it in the fridge.
If you do this, bring the casserole out to rest on the countertop while the oven is preheating, then increase your covered baking time by ten minutes.
Serve with cranberry sauce.