Chicken and Caramelized Onion Casserole

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3.5 (ZReboot 3.5) recipe. I had a hankering last night for a homey casserole. It had been raining all day and the temperature dropped, so this hit the spot. You can do this casserole with no pasta in the bottom to make it less carb-laden. Serve with a vegetable and/or a salad.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tsp of olive oil (divided)
  • 1 large vidalia (sweet) onion, sliced thinly
  • 4 skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1”cubes
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp of dried Italian seasoning
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • ¼ cup of white wine
  • 1/3 cup of chicken broth
  • 12 oz of Alouette soft cheese. I used the garlic and herb flavored one. (This is 1-1/2 packages. Save the rest for eating with celery sticks as a snack)
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • ¾ cup of grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup of pasta, cooked (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pull out two large sauté pans or do this portion of the cooking in two batches. In one pan put in 2 tsp of olive oil. Heat the pan and add the sliced onion.  Cook on medium low 15 minutes or longer. Stir often and watch for the onion to become lightly browned and gooey. This is the caramelization process and it will make the onion taste on the sweet side.

In the other pan put in 2 tsp of olive oil. Heat the pan and put in the chicken chunks. Cook them on medium high until about half cooked.  Maybe five minutes. Then add the garlic, the Italian seasoning, the wine and the chicken broth. Continue to cook on medium high until the chicken is cooked through. Then add the bell pepper and the creamy cheese. Stir on medium low until it’s all melted. Then transfer the onions from the other pan into the sauce and stir. Season with salt and pepper.

(While all this is happening you can be cooking your optional pasta)

To assemble the casserole.

Take out a 9″ x 13″ casserole. Spray the bottom. Put your cooked pasta on the bottom. I make just enough noodles to cover the bottom. Sort of “essence of pasta” rather than a pile of it.

Pour the chicken mixture on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven and turn on the broiler. Spread the Parmesan across the top and put under the broiler just until the cheese is crusty.

Serve in bowls or on a plate with a veggie on the side.

This casserole will be a hit at the potluck buffet, too.

Enjoy!

Cheers,