RecipeGreenNoodleCasserole

ANNE'S GREEN NOODLE CASSEROLE

This is what passed for international gourmet fare when I was growing up. My dad was a meat salesman who called on every grocery store, cafe and the one bowling alley between Oxford and Cleveland, Mississippi.

In the 60's, every small town in the Delta had at least one Chinese grocery store.
When I would ride along with my dad on his route from time to time (usually in the summer), I loved to visit these stores. The owners thought I was the cutest kid they'd ever seen (and I was), and they always gave me some kind of nasty candy from China. (I think it was made from seaweed.) I was never rude enough to decline it, but I usually arranged to lose it somewhere before we left town. While they were giving me candy (or something like it), they were giving my dad other things that were considered to be treats in the old country--frequently, green noodles.

Needless to say, there were not a lot of "green noodle" recipes floating around the Caucasian population of North Mississippi in those days, but eventually, my mother did find one in a magazine somewhere. From that day forward, no one in Batesville had much of an idea where green noodles came from--they might have thought that my made them herself--but they sure liked her casserole.

Serves 10 to 12 (At this point, my mother adds, "This is a colorful luncheon dish." Maybe, but it's the same color as the only other vegetable dish she knew how to make--green bean casserole.)

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces of green noodles
1/4 hen
   1 stick butter
   1 cup chopped celery
   1 cup chopped onion
   1 cup chopped green pepper (Mom hates green peppers, so these were
       always "optional".)
1/2 pound Velveeta (Now I remember that this came from a cookbook of
       Velveeta recipes.)
   1 small jar of stuffed olives
   1 large can sliced mushrooms
       Almonds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and boil
2. Boil noodles in stock, letting all liquid be absorbed. Reserve 1 cup of stock
       to thin sauce, if needed.
3. In a separate pan, saute the celery, onions and green peppers in butter.
4. Melt Velveeta, add to saute mixture.
5. Add chicken bites, olives, mushrooms to saute mixture and mix well.
6. Add noodles to mixture and put into casserole pan. Sprinkle almonds on top.
7. Bake at 350 degrees until hot thoughout.