Day After Roasted Chicken Casserole

This is two meals worth of cooking. While you could make the casserole without roasting the chicken the day before as indicated below, you will miss the incredible flavors of the roasted carrot and onion and the chicken juices used to flavor the casserole sauce.

Both the roasted chicken and the casserole are indeed classifiable as comfort foods!

Chicken:

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 sweet yellow onion, sliced

1 roasting chicken, cleaned and patted dry

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried dill weed

White sauce:

2 Tbsp reserved chicken fat (or olive oil if preferred)

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup white flour

about 2-1/2 to 3 cups milk

3/4 cup reserved chicken jus

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Casserole:

8 oz favorite pasta shape

3 cups small broccoli flowerets

about 2-3 cups roasted chicken, shredded

8 oz ham, cubed (I used Dietz and Watson steak)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

crushed red pepper flakes for garnish

For the chicken the day before

Preheat oven to 375F. Lay the carrots and onions in an oiled roasting pan.

Place the chicken on top of the veggies. Season with the herbs and spices.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast about an hour or so or until the internal temperature reaches 165-170F, according to the USFDA.

Remove chicken and allow to rest for about 10-15 minutes covered with foil on a large cutting board.

Scrape all the veggies and residual liquids into a strainer placed over a clean bowl. Set the carrots aside covered in the fridge for tomorrow. You should have at least 3/4-1 cup sauce (not including the fat that floats above the sauce. Bring sauce to 1-1/2 cups with fresh water. Microwave to heat through. Separate about 3/4 cup of sauce for tonight’s meal. Reserve the rest along with the fat covered in the fridge for tomorrow.

Carve and enjoy your roasted chicken, but remember to reserve about 2-3 cups chicken for the casserole - that’s about 2 breasts equivalent.

For the Casserole the next day (or day after)

Preheat oven to 400F. Bring 2 quarts of well-salted water to a boil in a medium pot for the pasta.

Meanwhile make the sauce: Scrape 2 tablespoons fat from the cooled chicken sauce and discard the rest (or keep frozen for future use as I do!).

Melt the butter in the fat in a medium pot. Add the flower and whisk together for about 3 minutes until frothy and nutty in aroma. Increase heat a bit and add 2 cups of the milk. Microwave the chicken sauce just to liquify and add to the white sauce. Whisk until it thickens up nicely. It should be much thinner than yogurt as the pasta will absorb moisture - so use up the rest of the milk if necessary - here, thinner is better. Whisk in the mustard, garlic and onion powders and season lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Do taste the sauce to be sure it is seasoned well.

When the water boils, add the pasta and cook for about 6-7 minutes or until the pasta is just al dente. Add the broccoli and cook 1-2 minutes more, until the pasta is well cooked.

You don’t want al-dente pasta here as the pasta would absorb too much of the sauce and the casserole will be drier - but you also do not want to cook the broccoli more than about 1-2 minutes.

Drain the pasta and broccoli and place in a large bowl. Add the chicken and ham.

Toss in the reserved carrots and the sauce and one cup of the cheddar.

Tip into an oiled 9x13-inch casserole.

Top with the remaining cheddar and the Parmesan. Garnish with red pepper flakes.

Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake 20 minutes covered. Remove foil and reduce heat to 350F. Bake an addition 15-20 minutes, until browned and bubbly.

Serve with a nice salad, if desired.

Serves 4-6.

Cooks Note: You can use any leftover chicken such as rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken you have frozen. I say day after, but you get what I mean. The beauty of planning ahead with a roasted chicken is being able to use the veggies, the fat (schmaltz) and the sauce in the casserole, which really adds a ton of flavor.

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