Reminds Me of Aunt Jackie’s Mushroom Noodle Casserole

The Redneck often hails his Aunt Jackie as the hallmark of home cooking. She was known for being able to make a meal that fed more than her own family for less money than one person fed themselves. When he tasted tonight’s casserole he smiled and said now THIS tastes like something Aunt Jackie would have made. Those home felt heart memories are one of the things we hope our grandkids remember fondly when they grow up. But TBH neither of them even tried tonight’s dinner :p

Cooking the dish on the sheet pan instead of a traditional casserole pot or deep dish fry pan, meant that you got lots of crispy wonderful on the top. So if that’s the best part of a casserole for you, this would be the way to go. If instead you like moist and delicate, you could easily pop this in a deep pan and cook for a bit longer.

Either way, it was a winner. Next time we are going to try it with cream of celery base as it would be more reminiscent of a “tuna” casserole.  As it was, the flavor tonight was decidedly closer to a classic stroganoff. But so much simpler with the Vitamix doing the heavy lifting. Great for quick weeknight meal.

Print Recipe

Reminds Me of Aunt Jackie’s Mushroom Noodle Casserole

Difficulty: Easy Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 15 min Total Time 35 mins

Servings: 10

Ingredients

Servings

• 16 ounces Egg Noodles
• 8 ounces Mushrooms
• 4 ounces Creamcheese
• 16 ounces Colby Jack
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 2 Packages Frozen Gardein Chick'n Strips (https://www.gardein.com/chickn/meatless-chicken-strips)
• 1 Sleeve Ritz Crackers (Optional)
• 8 ounces Frozen peas

Instructions

1. Prepare Noodles just until tender. Reserve a half cup of pasta water to enhance your sauce.
2. The Vitamix makes easy work out of the sauce for this casserole. Simply add all of the ingredients and use the soup setting. To the blender we added cleaned mushrooms, creamcheese, milk half of the cheese (cut in cubes) and mustard. In five+ minutes the Vitamix turns this into a cooked rich soup base full of flavor.
   
3. Thaw Gardein Chick'n Strips in the microwave for 2 minutes so they are still firm and frosty but not rock hard. Place in food processor with slicing blade and process to create a flake texture similar to tuna.
4. Shred the remaining half pound of colby jack cheese, and in a large bowl combine the cheese with your cooked noodles, soup base, a half cup of the reserved pasta water and the frozen peas. Spread onto a large cookie sheet (or two standard size cookie trays) Top with crushed ritz crackers if desired. And bake in a 400° oven for 15 minutes or until heated through.