This is one of my absolute all time favorite chicken casseroles. Not only is is a great way to use up stale bread, but you can also use up leftover cooked chicken or even turkey, or you can cook chicken specifically just to use in it.
This is a recipe which I adapted from an Amish Cookery book I had many moons ago. You know how that goes. Eventually the recipe becomes your own and it is no different with this! Its now so much my own that it only vaguely resembles the original.
I love recipes like this. They may seem a bit old fashioned, but they are always delicious and you don't really need to buy in anything special to make them. Most of the time you will have everything you need right in the house to make them.
I usually poach chicken to use in this recipe. You can also use leftover cooked roast chicken or the leftovers from a rotisserie chicken.
Poaching chicken is very easy to do. I usually poach a whole package of chicken breasts at a time.
Just take a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and place them into a saucepan large enough to hold them. Cover with either cold water or cold chicken broth, or a combination of the two.
You can add some salt and peppercorns if you wish. Just bring to the boil then simmer them, covered for about 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size and amount of them.
Turn the burner off and leave them covered in the stock to cool down just until you can comfortably touch them with your hands. Remove from the stock, shred and use as you would for any recipe requiring cooked chicken. Don't forget to reserve the stock for use in this particular recipe.
The meat always comes out tender and juicy and filled with flavor. You can cook lots at one time and then just freeze it in lots containing two cups. I just double bag it in zip lock freezer bags.
Make sure you label it with the contents and date. Then you will always have cooked chicken on tap and ready to use. You can break it apart very easily from frozen, or thaw it out on the defrost cycle of your microwave oven.
Another thing I like to do when I am using celery is to destring it. I trim both ends and then catch the strings with the end of my knife and pull them towards me. You can just throw the strings away.
Celery strings can sometimes be really tough and chewy. Removing them takes away that problem. It doesn't take long. Lots of people don't like stringly celery. I don't like stringy celery. This way you get all of the flavor without any of the nuisance!
I use the whole loaf bread, crusts and all. Best is a rustic type of loaf, more like homemade bread. It is sturdier and holds up better. No need to dry it.
Just tear it into rough crumbs. You don't want them to be fine at all. You want some texture and substance.
I only ever use butter for cooking. I never use margarine, although I am sure that you could if you really wanted to. I prefer the flavor of butter and I like that it is an all natural product.
I really don't want to fill my body with artificial fats and chemicals. Butter all the way here! I also think butter has a flavor that nothing else really comes close to. That's me. I am a butter fiend!
You only want to add enough chicken stock to the bread to moisten it, so that it is not overly dry. You do NOT want it to be soggy in any way!
The original recipe was very plain. It had no onion, or herbs. I like onion and I like herbs. I also love stuffing, so my adaptions included ways to make it taste more like stuffing.
The original also didn't include celery or any stock. It was basically just stewed chicken mixed with bread and a ton of butter, with some celery seed and seasoning. It was very good. (Think of a whole pound of butter. Yikes! No wonder it was considered tasty!)
Cutting the amount of butter back and adding some aromatics took nothing away from the original. Its a bit healthier and I love the flavours of the celery and onion, plus the herbs.
Not only that, but the butter you do use is infused with the flavours of celery and onion so it really tastes better with less. Know what I mean? You can't go wrong!
Whatever . . . stale bread, butter softened celery and onion, a variety of herbs, seasoning and tender poached chicken mixed with a tiny bit of stock and baked to give you one very delicious and simple entree.
This is really very, very good. Especially if you serve it with a bit of gravy and some vegetables on the side. We like tiny boiled potatoes with ours, but mash would also be great!
Leave it to the Amish to create something incredibly delicious out of next to nothing!
Amish Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breast filets, poached in chicken stock and cooled (Reserve the stock)
- 1 medium loaf of sturdy stale white bread
- 1/2 cup (125g) of butter (1/2 cup)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, washed, trimmed and chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp coarse black pepper
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp each of dried parsley, crumbled sage, thyme and summer savory if you have it
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a large shallow casserole. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and celery and cook over medium low heat until softened. Stir in the salt, pepper, celery seed and herbs. Set aside.
- Crumble the bread into a large bowl. Shred the chicken coarsely and add to the bread. Pour the butter mixture over all and toss together. Add only enough leftover stock so that your mixture is not totally dry. You don't want it soggy.
- Pile into the prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with greased foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Delicious!
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