Sookie's Chicken Casserole

A Southern comfort food classic.  It does use Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Celery soups, but it doesn't taste like one of "those" recipes.

 
 This recipe is from The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris, published in August last year.  This book is a great reference for fans.  There is a new short story, a very cool map of Bon Temps, character references, and many of the recipes referred to in the book.  Lots of these recipes are Southern classics, but for some of us they may not be readily a part of our daily lives as others.  I decided to write about Sookie's casserole, because it is awesome.  And of course, I'm a huge fan so I made it straight away.  Then I tuned it up a bit.  And I have a few prep hints.  Here is the recipe as it appears.

2 cups cooked rice

Nonstick cooking spray

4 large cooked chicken breasts, boned and diced

8 oz. sour cream

1 can (103/4 oz.) cream of chicken soup

1 can (103/4 oz.) cream of celery soup

2 tsp. poppy seeds

1 roll butter crackers, crushed

1/2 stick margarine, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Spread the rice on the bottom of a 9 x 13” casserole dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the chicken, sour cream, soups, and poppy seeds, and mix well. Spread over the rice. Sprinkle the crushed crackers over the top and drizzle with the margarine. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Submitted by Beverly Battillo

And here's my version.

3 cups cooked rice

2 T. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 large celery stalks, diced

4 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced

8 oz. sour cream

1 can (103/4 oz.) cream of chicken soup

1 can (103/4 oz.) cream of celery soup

1 roll butter crackers, crushed

1/2 stick margarine, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Make the rice.  Grease 9 x 13” casserole with vegetable oil or butter.  Spread the rice on the bottom of the casserole. (I don't use spray oil on non-stick surfaces anymore.  It destroyed the surface of one of my All Clad non-stick pans, literally turned it into a super-stick pan.  Williams-Sonoma said that I voided my lifetime warranty on the pan by using spray oil on it.  Now I don't use it on pans or even my fine ceramics anymore.)

Heat olive oil in a heavy pan.  Lightly saute onion and celery for a few minutes.  Add diced chicken and saute until just barely done.  This will become a rather juicy saute as the meat releases juices.  Don't over cook the meat.  The chicken will become too dry, and the liquid adds extra flavor to the casserole.  Add the sour cream and soups and mix well. (I omitted the poppy seeds because I know people who prefer not to eat them.)  Pour/spread creamy mixture over the rice in casserole. Sprinkle the crushed crackers over the top and drizzle with the margarine. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

I used Ritz crackers.  The easiest way to crush them is to put the whole roll, still in their wax paper wrap in a plastic bag for extra protection, then pound lightly with a meat tenderizer mallet.  After that you can simply open the package and sprinkle over the casserole.  

I really think the addition of the vegetables is important.  And the meat juices released in the pan are great when mixed with the soups. 

I served it with a Caesar salad and white wine.  I love Caesars, but lots of steamed fresh veggies would be great, too.  And obviously, we are still enjoying that Bogle California Chardonnay.

Enjoy!