Chicken Swiss Casserole

When my friend and coworker, Kim, told me about this recipe, I admit I was very skeptical. I couldn't believe that you could bake a frozen chicken breast without thawing it first and still have a tasty and tender result. I was completely amazed when I tasted this the first time. It is absolutely tender and the sauce that this recipe makes is the most delicious sauce. 

The sauce for this dish is mostly comprised of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup and Chardonnay. I don't spend a lot of money on wine for cooking either. I usually buy the cheapest bottle at Walmart. I think it's about $3.00. The combination of these two ingredients along with Swiss Cheese and stuffing will leave wanting to clean your plate (and that is no exaggeration). 

The look of this dish may not be the best in the world, but it is certainly the tastiest. You will know exactly what I mean when you try it for the first time.

Chicken Swiss Casserole

2 – 6 frozen chicken breasts, boneless

4 – 12 slices Swiss cheese (2 per breast)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 cup of white wine (I usually just fill the soup can up with wine)

1 small bag of herbed stuffing mix

½ stick butter, melted

Place frozen chicken breasts in a baking dish.  Cover each chicken breast with two slices of Swiss cheese. Mix white wine and cream of chicken soup together.  Pour over the chicken.

Cover with the stuffing mix over the chicken.  Sprinkle with melted margarine or butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until chicken is tender. 

Cover with tin foil for the last 20 minutes (If the stuffing starts to burn or get dark, cover sooner).

Give this a try and I'm sure you'll love it.  Remember to comment, share and enjoy your Chicken Swiss Casserole!

Caruso Casserole

My friend, Shelly, first made this casserole for a group of us and I thought it was wonderful.  I love it more and more each time I make it.  I always increase the amount of zucchini and tomato I put in it so that I have more veggies, but either way, it's going to be good.  I usually make sure that I have a total of 4 cups of zucchini and tomatoes. The day I made this one, I only had one tomato, but had loads of fresh zucchini.  I had 3 cups of zucchini and 1 cup of tomato.

If you don't like sausage, feel free to substitute beef or ground turkey (or leave it out altogether), but make sure you season it well, because the sausage usually does some of the job when it comes to flavor.  Also, I tend to mix the entire amount of cheese into the casserole instead of putting some on top.  That way, I have guaranteed cheese in every bite.  There is nothing worse than spooning out a serving of a casserole and much of the topping falls to the side.

Caruso Casserole

1 pound mild Italian sausage

1 cup onions

2 garlic cloves

4 Tbs. butter

4 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

2 cups milk

3 cups mozzarella cheese, divided

4 cups (½ of 12oz bag) noodles, cooked

1 cup zucchini slices halved

1 cup tomatoes, chopped

Cook egg noodles (if you haven't already).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook sausage, onion and garlic in skillet until sausage is brown and crumbly. Drain and set aside.

Melt butter, stir in flour and seasons until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and stir in 2 cups of cheese. 

Stir in cooked sausage mixture noodles, zucchini and tomatoes. Turn into buttered 9 x 13 casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes. 

Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.  Return to oven to melt cheese.

As you can see, instead of the cheese topping, I just mixed it into the rest of the casserole. I really hope you enjoy this.  Make sure you comment and share with friends.

See a full index of The Orange Skillet Recipes here.

Pizza Casserole

This casserole came to me via Pinterest.  I have found some great recipes on there, but this is an absolute favorite.  I have modified it a bit since I first made it, so here's the best version.  Originally, it had three types of meat in it; pepperoni, sausage and ham.  It was a bit much, so I opted to remove the ham.  

The pasta I use for this is farfalle or bow tie pasta.  It's one of my favorites, but you can certainly choose whichever pasta you like the best.  I believe that different shapes work better depending on the sauces or other ingredients that they're meant to accompany.  

Pizza Casserole

12 – 16 oz. Bow Tie Pasta

1 lb. mild pork sausage

1 med – large onion, chopped

Red Pepper Flakes

2 Tbs. Chopped Garlic

1 tsp. dried oregano

45 oz. spaghetti sauce (rough amount)

1 package pepperoni

3-4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta, drain (do not rinse).

Cook onion, red pepper flakes, garlic, and oregano with sausage until no pink remains in sausage, drain.

In a large pot, combine sausage mixture, pasta and spaghetti sauce. Layer this mixture in 13 x 9 dish with mozzarella cheese and freshly shredded Parmesan then top each layer with pepperoni. Two layers is plenty.

Bake at 375º for 20-30 minutes.  Allow to sit 5 minutes before serving.

This is one of my favorites.  It's also great for leftovers. I hope you enjoy!

See a full index of The Orange Skillet Recipes here.