Chicken Noodle Casserole

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9 casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Step 2

Cook the pasta in chicken stock with two bay leaves thrown into the water according to package directions. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Drain and set aside. Note the instructions on the egg noodles for using in a casserole, you will likely need to cut the boiling time by half.

Step 3

Melt the butter over medium low heat in a large sauce pan. Add the celery, onion, carrots and garlic to the pan. Cook until the veggies are soft and tender.

Step 4

Add the flour to the pan, mixing it in to make a paste. Very slowly add the reserved cooking stock. Approximately a tablespoon of stock at a time, waiting until the last bit of stock was completely combined before adding the next bit. Now slowly add the milk. While this should be done slowly, it will only take about a minute to complete.

Step 5

Once all the milk is mixed in, add the parsley and basil. Then season to taste with salt and pepper. Taste the sauce and add more salt, pepper, or herbs as needed.

Step 6

Stir in the chicken, cooked noodles, and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese. Pour the mixture into the greased casserole dish and top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese.

Step 7

Bake for 10 minutes or until your desired level of cheese browning. (See my notes in the post for making this the night before.)