Lee's Green Bean-Chicken Casserole

I know, I know, I know...I said I would bring you some healthy new foods for a healthy new year, but I've been on this comfort food kick and thought I would roll with that instead.

I hadn't made this recipe in some time, but once I started thinking about it, I couldn't stop drooling.  This is one of our family favorites my sis-in-law, Lee, makes.  I think it might be why we decided to keep her around because it's just that good. (Just joking, Lee...okay, maybe not.)  ;)

Lee's Green Bean-Chicken Casserole

6 large chicken breasts (3-4 lbs boneless)
3-4 tsp olive oil
2 (14.5 oz) cans of French style green beans
2 (10.5 oz) cans Cream of Chicken soup
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp Tabasco
2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

In a deep saucepan, melt Cream of Chicken soup and cheddar cheese over medium heat until smooth.  Set aside to cool.

Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.  Heat oil in a large skillet and cook chicken until slightly browned and mostly cooked through. Drain off any extra liquid.  I had to cook the chicken in two batches, so split the oil between the two.

Layer the cooked chicken and green beans in a 9x13 baking dish (or a 3-qt casserole dish).

To finish preparing the sauce, whisk lemon juice and Tabasco into the cheesy soup mixture.

Blend in the mayonnaise until smooth and pour mixture over the chicken and beans.

Sprinkle Parmesan and breadcrumbs across the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly around the edges.

Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving (so you don't burn your face off).

NOTES

If you don't have Tabasco on hand, you can substitute your favorite hot sauce.  The 2 tsp gives it a nice subtle flavor.  If you want it a little bite-ier, you can up the amount, but not too much because you don't want to overwhelm the other flavors.

I didn't cook my chicken thoroughly before putting in the baking dish because (1) I wanted to keep it moist and (2) because I knew it had additional cooking time in the oven that would finish them off and didn't want to dry out the pieces.

You could serve over rice or noodles to make it a fuller dish, but I like it just the way it is, served with some crusty bread on the side to sop up the extra sauce.

It will serve up to 8...or 4 with plenty of leftovers. :)