Mexi-Chicken Casserole

I love casseroles.  They minimize dishes and are great freezer-ready meals for the busiest of us!  This recipe intrigued me for many reasons.  The first and most prominent, it called for “canned” chicken.  I must admit I have never used canned chicken and to the best of my knowledge have never tried it.  While on the one hand I feel that it is the easy-way out, I promised myself that I would try all avenues and this is one path I have never traveled.  I was also interested in the juxtaposition of Mexican flavors and the sweetness of the pie crusts.  So away we go…

 Canned Chicken - the other White Meat

Ingredients:

• 1 16 Ounce jar of Salsa
• 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 2 Cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 2 12 Ounce packages of frozen, whole kernel Corn*
• 2 12.5 Ounce cans of Swanson’s premium white chunk Chicken, drained
• 1 15 Ounce can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 Package about 14 ounces) refrigerated Pie Crusts, at room temperature

Source: Campbell’s Kitchen

My deviations:

*I only used one package of Corn, and substituted one whole white Onion for the other bag.

Preparation:

            Start by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees.  Next stir the Salsa, Cheese, Corn, Chicken, and Beans in a large bowl.  Transfer the mixture to a 3 quart baking dish. 

            Now unfold the Pie Crusts onto a lightly floured surface.  Lay the Crusts side-by-side, with an overlap of about 3 inches at the center.  Press the seam to seal them.  Next roll the Crusts into a 14x10 inch rectangle.  Place the Crust over the baking dish and trim any excess crust.  Press the Crust to the rim of the baking dish to seal it and finish by cutting several slits on the Crust.

 So mine's not the prettiest  :)

            Bake the casserole for 40 minutes, until the Crust is golden brown.

And the final result -  delicious.  I was more than impressed with this dish.  I loved the simplicity of the recipe and it froze quite well.   Try this and you will not be disappointed!!