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Unca E's Chicken Casserole

I got this from a congregation-contribution recipe book assembled at Staples. I have modified it a little, so I took Aunt Cindy's name off and put my own on.
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Equipment

  • 1 Pressure Cooker I have an Instant Pot, and I like it.
  • 1 9 x 13 baking dish also known as a casserole pot
  • 1 mixing bowl
  • 1 small soup pot
  • stuff to stir with. Probably like, a rubber scrapper or something.

Ingredients

  • 2 boxes Stove Top stuffing
  • 12 oz butter, divided use (a stick and a half)
  • 3 cups water, divided use
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2-3 lbs chicken
  • 2 cubes chicken bouillon
  • 1 cup chicken broth You can use the water from the pressure cooker when the chicken has finished

Instructions

Cook the chicken

  • Put a cup of water in the pressure cooker, place the trivet thingy, and add the chicken.
  • Pressure cook the chicken on high for 8-10 minutes, or 10-12 if the chicken is frozen. Allow the pressure to release naturally for five minutes, then release the rest manually.
  • Remove the chicken from the cooker and pull it apart with two forks. Pieces should be smaller than bite size.

Make the stuffing

  • Cut 8 oz (one stick) of the butter into small pieces, add 2 cups water. Stir in the Stove Top mix. Note that this is basically just the instructions on the box, but with less water.
  • Microwave on high for 6 minutes. Fluff the stuffing with a fork. Set aside

Mix the casserole

  • Mix the sour cream and soups in a large bowl until the consistency and color are even to form the base.
  • Stir the chicken into the sauce mix, then transfer it all to a 9x13 dish.
  • Smooth the prepared Stove Top over top.

Add the sauce topping

  • Prepare a sauce by mixing the broth, the bouillon, and 4 oz of butter (1/2 stick, the rest) in a small pot.
  • Heat until the butter is melted and the bouillon dissolved. Pour over the top of the casserole.

Bake and serve

  • Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
  • Remove the foil, and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. This will add a little bit of crisp to the stuffing.
  • Cool for a few minutes, then serve.

Notes

  • I find preheating before I start the chicken is a bit soon, but you can definitely start the oven while the pressure releases. Generally, if I do this, without stressing, I can have all the other stages done by the time the oven is ready to receive.
  • I don't use Stove Top, I use the whatever brand is cheapest at the store. I'm reasonably confident the directions are all the same. The point is to use 1 cup less water than directed, because the sauce on top adds a lot of liquid right on top of it.
  • I literally never deviate from this recipe at all, with the possible exception of using broth instead of water at all points. There's no reason. More chicken thins out the ooze. It doesn't need cheese or seasoning. Casseroles are the "throw it all together and bake it" food. I already know what I want. No change needed. You, however, maybe grossed out by the amount of processed food here. If you want to use hand-made stuffing, feel free, be careful about the moisture though.
  • My wife and my mom skip the whole shredding bit, and just dice the chicken. Fine, but it's better pulled, so I put in this little bit of effort.
  • The chicken broth can literally be just poured from the bottom of the pressure cooker pot. No reason to open a separately bought or prepared broth.
  • The point of a casserole is to be easy, which I know contradicts the previous bullet, but I thought I'd share some of what is different in the OG. Cindy would have you cook chicken in breasts within the soups and then pull it out and split it up. Then put it back in. Then add the stuffing and proceed. No thank you! Also, pressure cooker MUCH faster. 
  • The nature of sour cream packaging as typically sold in the US is weird whenever I stop to think about it. Typical package is 2 cups, so you can just open one and split it in half. It's viscous enough to hold that shape. This means it's tempting to do half a cup by splitting again, but the dish always gets messy. I have defaulted to measuring this stuff anyway most of the time.
 
Here's the stuff that would form the basis of the article if I were a jerk and filled up the top with senseless narration:
This is SO American, going my the definition of American Cooking as follows: "Put these two cans of something into a baking dish. There. You cooked."
There is no item of food on this planet outside of cheese pizza that my entire family will eat. But this comes close.
My little brother, when he first encountered this, was heard to say "I don't understand this food."