While sitting in a waiting room, I saw this recipe in a Better Homes and Garden from February. Because my own chicken and noodle casserole recipe, previously posted here, is such a hit at my house, I thought I would try a variation. This one takes a bit longer, but it is good, and I am sure the fact that it is promoted as under a dollar per serving helps too.
Here’s what you need:
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped 
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds chicken legs and/or thighs
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
1 slice bread
1 12 ounce package jumbo or extra-large egg noodles
1 8 ounce container sour cream dip, cheddar French onion dip, or French onion dip
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Nonstick cooking spray
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a Dutch oven cook two-thirds of the celery and two-thirds of the onion in hot oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add chicken, pepper, thyme, and salt; cook for 2 minutes. Add 6 cups of water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes until chicken is no longer pink.
To make topping, tear bread in small pieces. Finely chop remaining celery and onion. In a small bowl toss together the bread, celery and onion; set aside.
With a slotted spoon transfer chicken to a cutting board to cool slightly. Add noodles to simmering broth; boil gently for 7 to 8 minutes, just until tender, stirring occasionally. With the slotted spoon transfer noodles, celery, and onion to a 3-quart baking dish.
For sauce, in a bowl whisk together sour cream dip and flour. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of the hot broth until smooth. Add sauce to broth in Dutch oven; cook and stir until boiling.
Meanwhile, discard skin and bones from chicken. Chop chicken, then add to noodles in dish. Gently stir in sauce. Sprinkle with topping, then lightly coat with cooking spray.
Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes until casserole is heated through and topping begins to brown. Top with parsley just before serving.
I decided to try this just recently because I had some leftover chicken breast that was already cooked. As a result, I ended up improvising some with the chicken. I diced it and pretty much treated it the same as shown. It worked just fine, but I will probably try the exact recipe above next time. I also used sour cream-based, green-chili dip (I live in New Mexico…what can I say?) End result tasted great!
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