The best you can do after a holiday is to continue to create comfort food. This recipe will warm you to your soul. It is superb when made with turkey and also works when you can find a day-old rotisserie chicken in the refrigerated section of your market. It will also work when you are limited to canned tuna, mackerel, or salmon.
Serves: 4-6
Time: 75 min. (Prep, 30 min. bake, 45 min.)
Ingredients:
12 oz./1-1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 small onion diced small
1-1/2 cup sliced celery
4 cups large dice cold protein (Turkey, Chicken, Fish)
½ cup small diced carrot
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups sliced mushroom
2 cups milk
1/3 cups AP Flour
5 slices dry bread
1 cup dry cheese (Parmesan, Cotija, etc.)
½ lemon juice
16 oz. wide egg noodles
Directions:
Somewhat surprisingly, the first concern of this recipe is the topping. Dry your slices of bread by leaving them out in the morning, by placing them in the air fryer set on dehydrate, or, in a pinch, a short spell in the oven or toaster. Yes, you can use packaged breadcrumbs; try Panko.
Put the water on to boil for your noodles, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a pan just larger than your casserole dish, heat ½ of the butter. Sauté in this order the carrots, mushrooms, onion. As the onion wilts, add the flour mixing well to absorb the oils and cook off its raw taste.
(Put the noodles on to cook. Pull them from the water when not quite al dente. An ice bath can stall cooking when timing demands.)
Add the milk to the veg/butter-flour mix, constantly stirring until the sauce thickens smoothly. Next, add the peas and cubed protein. Continue to tend to the sauce, adding water/broth to keep it looser than desired. (The noodles will take up the excess fluid, and remember that sauces get thicker as they cool).
Prepare the breadcrumbs in a processor, add dry cheese and the remainder of the melted butter. Combine the noodles with the other ingredients. Stir in lemon juice, place all into the casserole dish. Spread the breadcrumbs evenly over the casserole.
Bake for 45 min. Test for doneness by an internal temp of 160 degrees F. Place foil over the top if the crumbs brown too quickly.
Serve piping hot on cold wintery days.
Enjoy,
Mr.FredEats
*** Please check out the video on Pinterest @brazemshop! ***
