Recipe Revisited: Chopstick Chicken

Fresh ingredients and nuts give this hot chicken salad a satisfying crunch

Hello there Beaver!  I was going through my cookbook the other day looking for Carol Vant's Quiche recipe (more on that later) when I came across this old casserole recipe you and I used to make a lot when we were younger, i.e. before the children decided they didn't like casseroles. Basically Chopstick Chicken is a hot chicken salad, but instead of mayonnaise it uses cream of mushroom soup, which is good because you can use regular, fat-free, low sodium, or heart healthy versions. Another thing this casserole has going for it is that it uses very few ingredients and therefore it's very simple.

Fresh out of the oven this recipe's a real winner. I love the crunch of the chow mein noodles and cashews. The goodness stops there, however. I had completely forgotten that this dish does not reheat well! The noodles turn to mush and the nuts get softish, even if you heat the leftovers in the oven rather than the microwave. For this reason I don't recommend making this recipe unless you know you'll eat it all.

A quick stir and you're done.

Chopstick Chicken

Serves 3

Ingredients

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup water
3 oz. can crispy chow mein or rice noodles
2 chicken breasts halves, cooked and diced
1 cup celery (about 3 hearts)
1/4 cup chopped onion (about 1/3 onion)
1/2 cup cashews
dash pepper

Procedure

Combine soup and water. Add 1 cup of the noodles, chicken, celery, nuts, onion and pepper. Mix together and place in a round baking dish. Sprinkle remaining noodles on top and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbling.

Time to pop this casserole in the oven!