Chicken-tot Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken

1 can mushroom soup

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 bag frozen tater tots 

1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Cut raw chicken into bite-sized pieces. Pan fry with a small amount of olive oil until cooked through.  Salt and pepper can be added in this phase for added flavor.  Add onions and celery, and remove from heat when onions are translucent.  This was a prepare-ahead meal, so at this point, I allowed the chicken and veggies to cool. You could also prepare and bake right away. 

Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with Pam, and add the chicken. Try to make it as even as possible. Spread mushroom soup evenly over chicken. (Feel free to add milk or broth to make more gravy, but I thought it was perfect without additional liquid). 

Next, completely cover chicken and soup with a layer of tots. Sprinkle cheese on top of the tots. 

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Then remove foil and increase heat to 375. Bake until the tater tots are golden and crispy. Serves 4-5. 

Notes: Good freezer-meal option (thaw first), make early-bake later, or prepare at meal time. Just be aware that frozen tots will extend baking time. For big families, double the recipe and use a 9 x 13 baking dish. Buy gluten free and dairy free products for an allergy-friendly meal. 

31 Pins: Day 17

I know what's in it, it is Gluten Free, and seems extremely versatile!  

My daughter loves soup.  She asks for it more than anything else.  But, for some reason, we don't eat a lot of it, and I rarely have more than a couple of cans on hand.  Her top two picks are tomato and cream of potato.  We used to use a ton of cream of mushroom soup in different dishes, but got out of that habit for some reason.  However, in the last week or two, I have found many uses for cream of mushroom soup again.  

I came across a pin for "cream soup base" recently, and thought it sounded interesting.  I bought some powdered base at the local butcher shop at the beginning of the year, and it was quite expensive (for clam chowder... yum!).  I kept coming back to this pin and just had to get it done.

Original pin:

(well, of course I couldn't find the first one, so I had to find another)

The ingredients are pretty simple:

powdered milk

corn starch

dried minced onions

bullion powder

pepper

spices (basil/thyme/parsley - whatever you want)

That's it!! (click the original pin image for exact amounts)

I picked up what I did not have at the grocery store this morning and whipped up a batch as soon as I got a chance.  One recipe yields exactly 16 oz. of dry mix.  That is 6 servings.

To use this base, add 1 1/4 cups of water to 1/3 cup of the dry mixture.  You can add potatoes, bacon, cheese, veggies, whatever you want for a wonderful soup!   They also boast this as a wonderful thickener for macaroni and cheese.  I know I can't wait to see how that tastes!

I put a little sticker on the jar to remind me of the dry mix/water ratio.

In order to make cream of mushroom soup, I also dehydrated some mushrooms to chop up and use when needed.  We are all set for soups and casseroles this fall. :)

Expense rating: The dry milk was more expensive than I expected, but everything else was reasonable.  I picked up the cheapest bag possible, and I think I will be able to make 3 batches with it (it was 4.50 ish).  Doing some very raw math, I would value one batch (6 portions... equal to 6 cans of soup?) to be a little over $2.  You would pay a lot more for 6 cans of soup, so I believe it will be worth it if it tastes good!

Difficulty rating: EASY