Thanksgiving Casserole

Is it too soon to start talking Thanksgiving? Not in my book! I love all the flavors and dishes that make up a Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberries... so I thought I might cram all those fun dishes into one casserole.

You're welcome to make this dish using turkey meat, but sometimes I find it a bit difficult to track down before the holidays. So chicken works wonderfully! If you have leftover meat, this is a great application. If not, make your life easy and pick up a rotisserie chicken.

I also opted to use a boxed stuffing mix to keep it easy. But truth be told, homemade stuffing is not overly complicated. So feel free to dress up this casserole with cubed french bread or cornbread.

And I think it's just imperative that this casserole is served with cranberry sauce and gravy. Again, in the spirit of keeping it easy during the week, I used a can of cranberry sauce - yes the stuff with the rings - and a gravy packet. Couldn't be quick to pull together! And definitely worth the extra small step.

Thanksgiving Casserole

Ingredients

· 2 tbsp olive oil

· 4 tbsp butter, divided

· ½ onion, minced

· 1 carrot, peeled and minced

· 1 celery stalk, minced

· 1 garlic clove, minced

· ¾ tsp dried parsley

· ¾ tsp dried sage

· ¾ tsp dried thyme

· ½ tsp salt

· ½ tsp pepper

· 2 tbsp flour

· 4 cups chicken broth, divided

· ½ cup sour cream

· 1-1.5lbs cooked chicken or turkey, shredded

· 1 box dry stuffing mix & seasoning packet

· 1 egg, whisked

· 12oz frozen green beans

· Cranberry sauce

· Turkey gravy

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium sauce pot, add olive oil and 2 tbsp butter over medium low heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Sautee for 2-3 minutes until onions are translucent. Add the parsley, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the herbs are fragrant. Stir in the flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the flour is golden brown. While stirring, add 2 cups of chicken stock. Simmer the stock and allow to thicken, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream and cooked chicken or turkey meat. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the stuffing, melt 2 tbsp butter. In a medium bowl, combine the dry stuffing mix, its seasoning packet, the melted butter, 2 cups of chicken stock, and an egg. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Line the bottom of the dish with the frozen green beans. Pour the chicken mixture evenly over the green beans. Cover the top of the chicken with the stuffing mixture.

Bake the casserole for 25-30 minutes until the stuffing is puffed and golden brown.

Serve the casserole with prepared cranberry sauce and gravy.

Serves 4-6

Notes

If you prefer, substitute the stuffing mix for a loaf of stale bread. Cube the bread and season liberally with dried parsley, sage, thyme, salt and pepper to make your own “stuffing mix.”

GF Friendly

Gluten Free Friendly!

Substitute the flour for your favorite GF brand. You can substitute the stuffing mix for Aleias’ GF Stuffing Mix or cube up your favorite GF bread loaf! If using plain bread cubes, season liberally with dried parsley, sage, thyme, salt and pepper.