Those who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s probably ate their share of hotdish and casserole. Not only were they standard fare of many a stay-at-home moms but also of school lunch programs.

We always had hamburger and macaroni hotdish at least once a week at home and occasionally one made with leftover chicken paired with rice. School hot lunch at Cathedral High School and Grade School in Crookston usually featured a hamburger-macaroni hotdish once a week and a tuna noodle one — not liked by everybody — every other Friday, since that was back in the day of no meat on Fridays.

I’m still a big fan of hotdishes. We make one that includes ground bison, a can of tomato soup and some green beans. And tuna casserole is still one of my favorites.

I recently added another hotdish to that list. It features leftover chicken, which we alway have a lot of after we’ve baked a Hutterite chicken. The recipe is loaded with carrots and peas along with grated Cheddar cheese and cream of chicken soup.

I’m sure if Mom or my Auntie Helen, who was head cook at the Cathedral, would have fixed this chicken hotdish nobody would have crowed about it.

Chicken Noodle Hotdish
12 ounces egg noodles uncooked
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 10-ounce cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 cups frozen peas and carrots
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray.
Cook the egg noodles according to package directions.
In a large bowl, combine the noodles, chicken, soup, milk, cheese, peas and carrots, garlic powder, onion powder and salt and pepper to taste.
Place the noodle mixture in the prepared dish and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.