I believe this wonderful recipe came from the 1950’s or 1960’s, but the chicken scratch writing of my grandmother with all her changes and then mine too make it a bit hard to tell. I think this recipe probably came as a promotional recipe on a soup can, box of Philly cheese or even the jar of beef, but who really knows? This is a wonderful recipe for a large family gathering or having company. It looks and tastes like you worked all day! Hubby calls it Chicken S.O.S. I add small pasta shells and toss those with the excess sauce. The chicken turns out so tender and juicy you could cut it with a fork and it will melt in your mouth. The pasta work well for a pot luck dish, but the chicken is also tasty with mashed potatoes for a home meal.
CELEBRATION CHICKEN
1 jar dried beef
8 skinless chicken breasts
8 slices bacon
2 packages cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 cans undiluted cream of mushroom soup
Paprika
Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley for garnish
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Spray 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Layer dried beef slices on the bottom of the baking dish slight overlapping each piece.* / **
- Wrap a slice of bacon around each chicken breast and place on top of beef in a single layer.
- In a medium saucepan combine the cream cheese, soup and sour cream stirring until smooth and heated through. DO NOT BOIL – will burn easily!
- Pour sauce over chicken.
- Sprinkle with paprika.
- Cover and bake 2 hours.
- Spoon some of the soup mixture over each piece of chicken as you serve it.
- Garnish and serve immediately.
COOK’S NOTE 1: *When cooking for just the 2 of us I have much more dried beef than I need so I layer it on the bottom as well as use it on the chicken and then chop the last 2 pieces to add on top of the sauce – YUMMY!
COOK’S NOTE 2: **An alternative method is to wrap each chicken breast with the beef and then the bacon.
COOK’S NOTE 3: This recipe works well in the slow cooker on low also making it good for church suppers or potlucks.