Chicken Pasta Casserole -- The Dish That Holds Us Together

January 2024. Grace's eighth anniversary. Eight years since Jan 14, 2016. She would have been nine years old — the age of opinions and passions, the age of knowing exactly what you love and being unashamed about it. I imagine a version of her who loves to read, who debates with Noah over dinner, who has her father's dry humor and my grandmother's hands. I imagine her at the table. I always will.

Gary and I went to the cemetery in the morning as always. This year Noah asked to come, which surprised me — he hasn't asked before, though he knows this is our day and has always treated it with quiet respect. He stood between us at the grave and held Gary's hand and didn't say anything for a while. Then he said, "I think about her sometimes. I hope that's okay." Gary said, "It's more than okay." Noah nodded and put his hand on the stone for a moment. Nine years old and offering his sister something I couldn't have asked for.

I cooked all afternoon. The lasagna, the bread, the cookies that fill the house with the smell of care. I wrote in my journal — not the public one, the private one that runs alongside everything else. Eight pages. Eight years. I wrote about what she's given me that she'll never know about: the workshops, the book, the kitchen that became a calling. All of it running back to the specific grief of her loss and the specific way that grief insisted on moving forward.

Feed them well. That's the title of the book. It's also the instruction she left me.

The lasagna I made that afternoon was already in the oven when I thought about what I’d make the next time — something just as grounding, just as undemanding, just as capable of filling the house with the smell of care. This chicken pasta casserole has become one of those anchor dishes for me: warm, honest, the kind of thing you make when you need to feel useful with your hands and generous with your table. It’s the recipe I come back to when I want to feed people well, which is, after all, the only instruction I’ve ever really needed.

Chicken Pasta Casserole

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked rotini or penne pasta
• 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
• 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
• 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup frozen peas or mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Mix the sauce. In a large bowl, stir together the cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and chicken broth until smooth and well combined.
3. Add the filling. Fold in the cooked pasta, chicken, vegetables, garlic powder, onion powder, and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Transfer to dish. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
5. Top and finish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar over the top. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs with melted butter and scatter evenly over the cheese layer.
6. Bake. Bake uncovered for 35–40 minutes, until the top is golden and the casserole is bubbling around the edges. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 35g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 680mg