Published: September 29, 2009 09:11 am      

Drucilla's Little Helpers: Tasty recipes

I think it will start getting cooler in the weeks ahead and I like my comfort food when the weather gets cooler. This recipe today is a hearty casserole that would satisfy your hungry bunch. It serves 12 regular people or just a few real hungry people.

Chicken Casserole

1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 4 pounds)

3 quarts water

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Stuffing

6 cups unseasoned stuffing cubes (or crumbled cornbread)

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons chopped onion

2 tablespoons butter

Sauce

1/2 cup butter, cubed

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

6 eggs, beaten

In a soup kettle, combine the first seven ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 and a half to 2 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from broth. When cool is enough to handle, remove meat from bones; dice and set aside. Strain broth and skim fat; discard onion, celery and bay leaf. Set aside 6 cups broth for sauce. In a large bowl, combine stuffing cubes, parsley and sage. Saute celery and onion in butter until tender. Add to stuffing mixture and mix well; set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add reserved broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount into eggs; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. In a greased 13-inch x 9-inch baking dish, layer half of the chicken, stuffing and sauce. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 15-20 minutes longer or until a knife comes out clean.

George and I will be celebrating 42 years of wedded bliss this week. I thought he could cook when we got married but then I realized the only thing domestic about George is that he lives indoors and if he does stir up anything in the kitchen, it's trouble. Sometimes he tests our smoke alarms by making a flaming cheese sandwich. After his heart attack, I switched his bread to whole wheat. He was toasting a cheese sandwich in the oven one day and using the whole wheat bread. He opened the oven door and his sandwich was flaming. He just said, "Whole wheat flames up quicker than white bread." He is a hoot to live with and I hope God gives us at least 42 more years. I think he is going to take me "out" to eat. I saw him getting a box of crackers and a little stick of bologna at the store. His idea of eating "out" is to take the bologna and crackers and go outside and sit on the porch and eat. Isn't he sweet. He also came up with a good idea last week. As he walked by the coffee table he remarked, "We can use the coffee table for writing messages so don't bother dusting." Life with George... gets better every day. Happy anniversary, dear.

I would like to invite you up on the mountain (Monterey) on Oct. 9 and 11 to a dinner theater at the First Baptist Church Fellowship building. I will be one of the players in the "Dining With the Dearly Departed." I'm playing my great-great-grandmother, Margaret Emiline Buckner Whittaker. You will never believe what they said she did. "A body was never found, so how could they prove I did anything?" She was a character. I'll have more details next week about time and cost.

If you have a question about a recipe or a recipe to share, just give me a call at (931) 839-2313 or e-mail me at drucilla1@frontiernet.net.