Chicken Curry Casserole

I made one of our finest “refridgerator velcro” meals last night. It is such a common use of leftovers dish I didn’t even think to take a picture. [Note: added the pic the next day. Not pretty but way tasty.] I’m going to give you the outline for this frequent dinner plan but if you make it, know that almost all the ingredients are flexible. We just put in whatever meats and veggies we have left over in the fridge. Amounts too are very flexible – just whatever you have.

Cook 1 lb pasta in heavily salted water. We had penne so I used that but my favorites are capatavi and campagnelle. Combine the cooked, drained pasta with diced, cooked chicken, cooked broccoli, one can cream of chicken soup, a couple of scoops mayo (maybe ¼ cup ish,) and about a tablespoon of curry powder. None of the ingredients need to be hot when combined. Generally, the pasta is hot but everything else is fresh from the fridge.

Top with some bread crumbs (just toss a slice in the food processor – stale bread is fine) and shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 until warm through and bakey on top. About 25 minutes. You can also take this casserole (prior to baking) and put it in the freezer. We love freezer meals!

Substitutions and additions can be just about anything: green beans, sauteed onions, sauteed mushrooms, asparagus. I don’t generally use any meat except chicken but that’s mostly because beef doesn’t last around our house long enough to be leftover.

For the cost, I am only considering “new” ingredients. The chicken and broccoli were left over from other meals so they are “free.”

$0.89 Cream of Chicken Soup

$0.50 Mayo, Curry powder, bread crumbs

$0.50 Cheese

$0.86 Pasta

$2.75 Total (Makes about 6 large servings at $0.46 each)

Even if you want to add in the cost of broccoli and chicken, you’re still only looking at a dish that is about $5 total. It’s great comfort food and perfect for fridge cleaning.