Chicken Casserole with Cabbage and Pasta

Surprisingly good and hardy casserole that doesn’t look that good at the first glance at the recipe. I was looking through all my recipes and cook books looking for recipes to use up items that was lingering in my refrigerator and freezer when I found this old depression recipe. I think it came from a lot of recipes from a yard sale many years ago. I tend not to throw away recipes that fall out of cookbooks because they are usually favorite recipes of that cook who wrote them down and tucked away for use. Trying to find a recipe to match what you have on hand can be frustrating because all the modern cook books seemed to be written by chefs that have access to products that don’t fit low budget pantries.

We pick up these cook books and look at them in thrift stores and yard sales, with their beautiful professionally done pictures for each recipe that makes the food look wonderful. Then when we get home with the beautiful cook book and decide to make a recipe, we find that recipes contain products like mango chutney or other items that are hard find or too expensive for the food budget. The pretty cook book finds a home on coffee table until you get tired reading it. The cook book had lots of entertainment value but not much use as a reference.

So after digging through my recipes, I end up with several recipes that seem to fit what I have on hand. I kept coming back to this one hand written recipe. It came from a period that nothing was wasted and cooks made their own broth and used up left overs. Home freezers were not the norm and in the winter cabbage was a staple. My mother who spent her youth in the Depression always told me her mother loved Bisquick, The recipe made a large biscuit topped casserole and more servings that could possibly be able eaten in my household. I didn’t have any left over chicken but I had chicken breasts in the freezer and everything else I had. I cut the recipe in half and did the few substitutions.

I cut up the large chicken breast and used chicken bullion for the broth. I do can my own chicken stock but I didn’t want to open a jar for the small amount that was called for in this recipe. I also changed the can of peas to frozen and the jar of pimentos to chopped red sweet peppers that I had in my freezer. The following recipe will make 3 large servings and how I made this delicious casserole.

• Servings: 3 servings
• Time: 35 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup macaroni or pasta
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 1 large chicken breast cut into bite size peices
• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
• pinch salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 small chicken bullion cubes
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup biscuit baking mix
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside.

In a skillet heat oil then add chicken and onion over medium heat. Sauté until chicken is no longer pink. Add cabbage, red sweet pepper, pinch of salt and black pepper. Sauté for five more minutes. Dissolve bullion in a cup of hot water. Pour over the chicken mixture. Stir and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven 375 degrees. The baking casserole dish should hold 1 1/2 quarts.

Mix flour and water together. Set aside,

In a small bowl mix biscuit mix with beaten egg parsley and milk. Add a few drops of extra milk if dough is too stiff to make drop biscuits on top of casserole.

Add flour mixture to the chicken mixture and stir to thicken. Add peas and pour into casserole dish. Top with drop biscuits.

Bake for 25 minutes until biscuits are done. Serve hot for a hardy meal.