Chicken Something Different
This is a very easy to make 3 meat casserole dish that everyone raves about every time I make it. It's so simple to make, it's almost embarrassing when someone asks for the recipe!
This is a very easy to make 3 meat casserole dish that everyone raves about every time I make it. It's so simple to make, it's almost embarrassing when someone asks for the recipe!
- shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts uncooked
- 1 jar armour dried beef
- 6 slices bacon uncooked (turkey bacon is preferred as it produces less oil into
- 1 can campbell's cream of chicken soup undiluted
- 1 8-oz container sour cream
- 1/2 small onion chopped and sautee`d
- 1 small jar mushrooms (optional)
- Carbohydrate 0.7046625 g
- Cholesterol 152.385 mg
- Fat 12.8817375 g
- Fiber 0.0584375016391277 g
- Protein 57.2112125 g
- Saturated Fat 4.23327375 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (264g)
- Sodium 330.9175 mg
- Sugar 0.646224998360872 g
- Trans Fat 1.8506225 g
- Calories 363 calories
Step-by-step
- Using a 13x9x2 pan, line the bottom of the ungreased pan with the dried beef circles.
- Place the chicken breasts on top of the dried beef circles. Make sure to dispurse them evenly across the pan.
- In a bowl, combined the sautee`d onion with the sour cream and cream of chicken soup. Mix thoroughly and then spread evenly on top of the chicken.
- Bake at 300 degrees for 2.5 hours. Remove from oven and place bacon strips on top of soup mixture and return to oven until bacon is done.
- Remove from oven and add cheese on top of the bacon. Cover the bacon and soup mixture completely. Return to oven until cheese is melted completely.
- Serve with your favorite rice dish and a nice green salad.
Using turkey bacon instead of standard pork bacon alters the moisture balance significantly, reducing grease accumulation during the multi-hour bake. Traditional casseroles rely on high heat to force rapid coagulation, but this recipe utilizes a prolonged 300-degree Fahrenheit environment to tenderize dense protein layers gently.
The Mechanics of Low-Heat Braising
Placing raw chicken directly over dried beef circles creates a barrier that concentrates savory depth without scorching the poultry. Cream of chicken soup and sour cream emulsify when heated slowly over two and a half hours, preventing the dairy from breaking or separating into oil slicks. Cooking chicken breasts this long requires a moisture-trapping sauce blanket to keep the muscle fibers from seizing up and turning dry. Staggering the additions—adding bacon near the end and cheese last—prevents overcooking the toppings while allowing the base proteins adequate time to render.Textural Evolution in Storage
Allowing this dish to rest in the refrigerator overnight yields distinct structural changes as the gelatin from the chicken and the fats from the cheese solidify. Reheating individual portions at moderate power restores the creamy viscosity of the sour cream sauce without causing the cheddar to toughen into rubber. Dense layered bakes inherently improve by day two because the salt from the dried beef equalizes throughout the surrounding meat tissues.
