Southern Chicken and Dressing Casserole!

  

This is like putting Thanksgiving dinner in one dish. It's chicken and stuffing and a creamy gravy all cooked together. It makes a big casserole so it feeds a crowd.  You can actually use chicken or leftover turkey in this and it's a good way to use up leftover turkey during the holidays. 

This is really good served with mashed potatoes, southern green beans, and banana split fruit salad.  Add some easy homemade buttermilk dinner rolls   and you have a meal that is a celebration.   This is great to make the night before also to save prep time.    This does make a large casserole so if you are not cooking for a family or company you can make two and freeze one for another meal.  I love things that I can do this way.  Then, I always have a casserole in the freezer to pull out at the last minute when I get busy and don't have time to cook a whole meal from scratch.   This casserole uses some convenience items, like the herb stuffing mix, but if you want to use your own cornbread with some poultry season added, go for it.  This is not a cornbread dressing recipe, it is a casserole.  If you are looking for an actual cornbread dressing, go to Southern Cornbread Dressing. 

Here is what you will need for this casserole:

4 cups of cooked chicken, chopped in bite size pieces ( you can use turkey also)

1 (12 or 14 oz.) pkg. herb seasoned stuffing mix ( I use Pepperidge Farm or you can substitute your own cornbread crumbled)

1 1/2 stick of butter, divided

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can chicken broth

1 cup milk

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 cup sliced water chestnuts (optional)

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

Mix chicken, soups, 1/2 can of the chicken broth, milk, onion, celery, water chestnuts, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.

Melt 1 stick of butter.  Mix the butter and the rest of the chicken broth with the stuffing mix.  Place 1/2 of the stuffing in a 3 quart casserole dish you have sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. 

                                   Pour the chicken mixture over the stuffing layer.

Top with the remainder of the stuffing mixture and dot with butter.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until hot and bubbly around the edges.