Chicken Macaroni Casserole

flower7's Note:

I found this recipe while browsing through my Betty Crocker cookbook and thought it sounded tasty. I love that you don't have to pre-cook the pasta. The original recipe called for curry powder but I also like it with chili powder for something totally different (if using chili powder, you will want to double the amount). Also a good use for that leftover holiday turkey!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken or 1 1/2 cups cooked turkey
• 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup milk (I use skim)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder or 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup (I use low sodium, 98% fat free)
• 7 ounces elbow macaroni, uncooked
• 1 (4 ounce) can mushroom pieces, undrained
• 1 (2 ounce) jar diced pimentos, undrained

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix all ingredients together in an ungreased 11"x7" casserole dish.
3. Cover and bake until macaroni is tender, about 55 minutes.

Reviews

[meruhd]

No, I did not make this recipe according to the instructions. I made changes, but if I hadn't made those changes I probably would have rated this even lower. As it is, I'm rating it because I believe some changes should be made.

First, I added a full teaspoon of curry powder because I enjoy strong flavors. Next, because I used mild cheddar, I used double what was recommended as per another review which stated that they used mild and the flavor of the cheese didn't come through. I did not have pimentos, but used the mushrooms. I added 2 oz. of water extra (because of the lack of pimentos) and added about 1/4 cup extra of milk.

I do NOT recommend adding the 1/2 teaspoon of salt. It seems like only a little bit, but when you use pre-cooked chicken or turkey, there is already salt added to it (presumably you season your food when you cook it). Also, the cream of chicken soup has a great deal of salt in it already. I used no salt added mushrooms as well, and I'm glad I did.

With the above changes made, it was salty enough and seasoned well. I do not recommend adding that extra bit of salt unless you are using canned ingredients that are low sodium.

I DID enjoy this dish as I made it though. I served it with a salad as a palate cleanser and it worked out well. I will probably make this dish again, but will use fresh mushrooms that I will saute first. There wasn't much flavor with the canned mushrooms. This was a very easy dish because the pasta did not have to be pre-cooked. I used large elbow mushrooms and they were perfectly tender enough to eat.

[Annacia]

Delicious comfort food that is so easy to make. Whats not to love? I added some sliced leek and since I didn't have the pimento I added some orange bell pepper. It all came out perfectly yummy and this will certainly be made again. Made for Photo Tag.

[JLBear71]

DH made this for dinner tonight, leaving out the pimentos as we dont have any. This was easy and good. Needed a little more spice. Will keep as a basic guideline to make again with adjustments.