Beer Chicken and Stuffing Bake

You read that right...beer, chicken, and stuffing baked together make one impressive casserole.  I was looking for something to make for dinner that wouldn't require standing over the stove, and I thought of cooking the stuffing with the chicken.  There are many recipes for a similar dish that require cooking the stuffing before baking it (such as the one on the reverse of the StoveTop stuffing box), but I was looking for a one-dish meal.  I came across a Swiss Chicken Casserole recipe and decided to try out my own version try out my own version...with beer.

 I saw a beer-chicken recipe earlier that peaked my interest in adding some beer to a dish, and after a quick search to see if anyone else had success adding beer to stuffing, I found a Drunken Stuffing recipe that sold me on the concept.



I first lined 5 chicken breasts in a baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  I sprinkled salt and pepper on both sides and placed a slice of provolone cheese over each.

For the next step I decided to use cream of mushroom soup and sour cream to thicken it rather than the original ingredients of cream of chicken soup and milk.  I also added in some garlic, minced onion, and parsley.  I mixed together mushroom soup, sour cream, garlic, minced onion, and parsley in a separate bowl and spread it over the chicken and cheese.

Then I sprinkled the stuffing mix over the sour cream mixture.  I used a low sodium version of stuffing, but any version would work.

I finished it off by slowly pouring some beer and melted butter on top of the stuffing.  I covered the casserole with foil and stuck it in the oven.

I baked the chicken for an hour then pulled it out of the oven.  I could tell by the smell that erupted when I opened the oven that this was going to be good!

The result was fantastic!  The stuffing had this amazing sweet flavor and the chicken was cooked perfectly.  I'll admit I was a little worried the beer would cause the end result to be watery but it wasn't a problem at all; it was a perfect casserole.  Perhaps the thickness of the sour cream evened it all out.  The cheese was like a bonus in between it all and just wow!  The only thing I'd like to add next time is add some vegetables to the dish, but everything else was perfect!

In case you were curious, the beer I was used in this recipe was Yeungling.  It's one of my favorite beers and I'm sure contributed to that amazing flavor!

Beer Chicken and Stuffing Bake Recipe

Ingredients:

5 chicken breasts
2-3 teaspoons salt
2-3 teaspoons pepper
5 slices provolone cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1  10 3/4 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1   6 ounce package stove top stuffing (Chicken flavored)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup beer

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place chicken side by side in a 13" x 9" baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on each side of the chicken, then place a slice of provolone cheese over each.  In a small bowl, mix together soup, sour cream, garlic, parsley, and onion.  Once combined, spread the soup mixture over the cheese and chicken.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the soup next.  Slowly pour the melted butter and beer over the stuffing, then cover with foil.  Bake for 1 hour until chicken is fully cooked throughout.