Cancan Chicken Casserole (Rewind Recipes)

New series day!

Cancan Chicken Casserole / Bev Cooks

Not to be confused with old series day, or new series week, because neither of those are actual things. I don’t think.

Anyway! One of my little goals this year is to go back to cookbooks for inspiration. I’ve been in such a recipe developing rut for so long eees startin’ to keeeeeel meh. So, back to the books we go! But not just any cookbook on the shelf. OLD ones. Rusty and dusty ones. Ones that say things like, “stir it all together, bake it in the oven for an hour, then yodel to your family.”

Like this one.

Cancan Chicken Casserole / Bev Cooks

Homegirl is HYSTERICAL. This 1960 publication comes straight from my grandmother’s collection, and while the title sounds a tad Neggy-Peggy (all the puns intended), it’s a light, joyful, hilarious read.

So as my own post title says Rewind Recipes, I thought it would fun to go back in time and make (and maybe update?) some of these old recipes, just to better understand that ’50s and ’60s housewife approach to cooking.  Sound like fun?

Plus we get to yodel.

Cancan Chicken Casserole / Bev Cooks  Cancan Chicken Casserole / Bev Cooks

First off, I had no idea what cancan meant when I came across this recipe in the cookbook. I looked it up and learned it’s basically just a simple casserole with a protein of some sort, and good old fashioned cans of everything all mixed in. Her recipe called for canned tuna, but Aaron vetoed that before I could finish saying the word tuna. So poached and shredded chicken was my amendment. Bok.

But hold on, let’s talk about this . . .

Cancan Chicken Casserole / Bev Cooks

What I have discovered in reading old cookbooks, is that sometimes the author isn’t very clear on what to do. For instance, “one green pepper, chopped.” Ummm, bell pepper? Jalapeno pepper? Serrano pepper? Anaheim pepper? What kind of green pepper?!? So I went with bell and never looked back. Although a jalapeno would have been nice, PEG.

Another thing, old cookbooks say things like, “No. 2 can of whatever whatever.” (they don’t say the whatever whatever part.) No. 2 can? Like a number two pencil? Is No. 2 a brand? What the what, dude?

Cancan Chicken Casserole / Bev Cooks

So I looked that up and it means 20 ounces of whatever whatever. Ahhhhh, gotcha. Only problem with that, there aren’t 20 oz cans of cream-style corn, PEEEEG. So I combined a couple of cans to get around 23ish ounces and never looked back.

Also! These old recipes call for things like evaporated milk. I love you, Peg.

While there’s no cheese in this recipe (what), it’s still down right casserolicious. Let it sit for about 15 minutes after you bring it out of the oven. Gives it time for everything to settle in and firm up. Like a lasagna!

Serve it with a huge loaf of crusty bread and the greenest salad in the world, and you’re good to go.

Cancan Chicken Casserole / Bev Cooks

Wait. How did I already reach the end of this post with no CANCAN jokes? Ugh.

Cancan Chicken Casserole:

What it took for 4:

* 2 eggs
* 1 (12 oz ) can evaporated milk
* 20 oz can cream-style corn (I had to use a 14.75 oz can + 8.5 oz can, which is a little more than 20 oz, but I’m still a good person)
* 2 chicken breast cutlets, poached and lightly shredded
* 1 green bell pepper, diced
* 1 medium white onion, grated
* 1 small pinch of salt and pepper

In a large mixing bowl, beat the two eggs with the evaporated milk. This is already so good.

Then add the corn, shredded chicken, bell pepper, grated onion and a small pinch of salt and pepper. Mix to combine.

Pour into a greased casserole dish (9×13 is fine) and bake at 350 degrees, uncovered for about an hour. Maybe 75 minutes, depending on how it looks on top.

Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Cancan Chicken Casserole / Bev Cooks

YODELAYHEEEEEHOOOOO.

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65 Responses to Cancan Chicken Casserole (Rewind Recipes)

  1. Mountaincat January 29, 2015 at 8:17 am #
    This was a really fun post. Keep em' comin'!
  2. Judy January 29, 2015 at 8:52 am #
    Oh, you young-uns and your desire for directions that tell you what to do...as a child of the 70's-80's (I'm not committing to just one decade), let me say that way back then the only green pepper in our stores WAS a bell pepper. And in my family, that would have been a little too adventurous! Love casseroles...keep 'em coming!
    • Bev Weidner January 29, 2015 at 9:00 am #
      Haha! So glad I picked the right pepper. :) And yes, you're right! Today's recipe instructions are soooo detailed, it takes some training to loosen up the brain and wing it!
      • Cristie December 23, 2020 at 3:21 am #
        I have this cookbook! It’s great!
    • Marcie April 21, 2016 at 8:12 pm #
      My late husband used to translate recipes from his mother's Hungarian cookbook and it said thinks like; "some of this", and "a little of that", and of course the "Pinch" of something which really can only be clarified by knowing the size of someone's fingers!. Beside not even knowing what some of the ingredients were, they were all measured in the old school metric system. I would ask my husband what certain things were and if he couldn't translate some of the ingredients I would ask him what it tastes like and occasionally whether the ingredient was a meat or vegetable. We ended up having a lot of laughs with it. I am not a cook but messing around with some of these recipes, I ended up making these dishes "even better than Hungarians' could make them", That was a direct quote from my Love. This is when I started writing my own notes in cookbooks as I experimented and could never repeat something that my husband really liked. I still like to read about it but do not cook these meals for myself. Thank you for the fun. Marcie
      • Pamela Vasali June 21, 2016 at 11:00 am #
        Marcie, I'm an American expatriate living in Hungary with my Hungarian husband; we moved here after we both retired. I have more than a few Hungarian cookbooks, and of course Hungarian relatives who share their recipes with me. My favorite instruction, seen on more than a few recipes, is to cook, or bake, "until done".!! Trying to figure out when something you've never made before is done is quite a hoot, I can tell you! ;-)
        • Pam Dunlap November 6, 2017 at 12:50 pm #
          I would LOVE a recipe for Hungarian Goulash. We had some in Budapest and it was amazing. I have tried to recreate the taste but have not managed so far.
    • C.A. Simonson July 18, 2019 at 3:18 pm #
      Love it. I am with you - didn't know there were any other kind of peppers until I started cooking as a married woman. Looking for more of the old-fashioned recipes. They're fun. How about all those jello salads we used to have?
    • Ardelle Wachter October 12, 2020 at 2:20 pm #
      Judy is spot on, the only pepper in the '50s and '60s was the Green Bell Pepper, and it was real work to spend the money necessary to cook with one!
  3. Carole January 29, 2015 at 9:06 am #
    My dad used to make this but with tuna instead of chicken. It was one of my favorite suppers when I was a kid but I never had the recipe until now. Thanks for posting this!
  4. Sharana @ Living The Sweet Life Blog January 29, 2015 at 9:53 am #
    Sounds so delicious ... yodel ay hee hoo ;)
  5. Liz January 29, 2015 at 9:56 am #
    I love this series idea!!
  6. Abby January 29, 2015 at 10:10 am #
    I'm obsessed with this idea... and that cookbook! I have a retro book that I found at a garage sale and nabbed for the pictures alone. The Microwave Cookbook. Mhm... not sure about recreating the recipes from that one but it's a riot.
  7. Jenny H. January 29, 2015 at 10:28 am #
    That was one hilarious post! Thanks for making me smile.
  8. Shira G January 29, 2015 at 10:52 am #
    Loving this new series!! The casserole looks delish and of course you're hilarious :)
  9. Liz @ The Lemon Bowl January 29, 2015 at 12:32 pm #
    This is such a fun new series!!! And honestly, only you could make a casserole look so damn gorgeous.
  10. Andrea January 29, 2015 at 1:00 pm #
    My mom has that cookbook! Canned goodness or goulash as our family called dinners like that. Some 70's cookbooks that might also delight are "chocolate cake and onions" and "more with less" but you need to load up on powdered milk for the recipes in that one.
  11. Rachel Cooks January 29, 2015 at 1:42 pm #
    Such a fun series!!!
  12. Caitlin January 30, 2015 at 1:23 pm #
    I'm pretty into the idea for this new series.. old cookbooks are so weird. And most with no pictures?! At least that I've seen.
  13. wendy January 30, 2015 at 3:11 pm #
    So...........how was it? Do you think you could substitute non fat evaporated milk? Thanks!
    • Bev Weidner January 31, 2015 at 7:44 am #
      Oh! Well like I said in the post, it's really great! Unless you were asking someone else? I bet you could totally use non fat evaporated milk! Might not be AS creamy, but still work. Good luck!
  14. wendy February 3, 2015 at 10:39 am #
    Sorry, missed the part where you said it was great. Will try it with the non fat evaporated milk. Thanks.
    • Bev Weidner February 3, 2015 at 10:53 am #
      Awesome! Let me know how it turns out!
  15. Kim d. February 9, 2015 at 8:00 pm #
    Oh my, Bev, my mom used that cook book ALL THE TIME!! I have it sitting with all my other cookbooks, and I agree, it is a pretty good, funny read. Thanks for the smile.
  16. Marinó Páll - @ Gracipe.com March 18, 2015 at 12:34 pm #
    I created a graphical recipe out of this deliciousness, feel free to use it in anyway you want. Here is a link to the image http://i.imgur.com/7nw1Ux7.png . Best Marinó @Gracipe.com
  17. Susie August 8, 2015 at 2:13 pm #
    Dude.... I was just given that very book about 2 week's ago & the gal that gave it to me had gotten it from her Mom's collection when she passed. What a hoot !!!! Love your stuff.......
  18. Kathy Latour September 14, 2015 at 3:47 pm #
    I have this in the oven as I write and it smells delicious! I made my own cream style corn because all I have is kernels. I almost stopped with that. I'll never by canned cream corn again! Plus I got to use up 2 cans of evaporated milk that are nearing their best buy date :-)
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    Ashley, this was great! Loved that I only had to pick up a couple of ingredients on the way home. Will make this again.rluy
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  40. Marcia August 21, 2021 at 2:45 pm #
    I didn’t have evaporated milk but thought half’n’half might work. It’s in the oven now. Have you ever frozen this after baked? I’m thinking good bake ahead casserole to hand out for a new mom or something like that.
  41. Tommie Lou Rogers October 4, 2021 at 6:59 pm #
    Back in the 1970’s we were taught to make a different recipe called CanCan Chicken Casserole in our Home Economics class. It had the precooked chicken, green onions, celery, parsley, salt and pepper, instant rice and a can of cream of celery soup and a can of either cream or chicken soup or cream or mushrooms soup. I can’t remember which one it was. But it was very good. And could be made in the time of a high school class, which I think was 55 minutes.
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    Made this tonight with butternut squash but didn’t have feta or the herbs for the dressing. Still, was a nice combination of flavors. tasty food recipes
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  47. Angela Jane July 13, 2022 at 3:21 pm #
    I, too, have this cookbook. This is one of my faves. I can say, you overthought it a bit. 1 can tuna, 1 normal size can of cream style corn, 1 normal size can of evaporated milk. After that you just wing it. I like to dump about a half a box of uncooked pasta into it. I like to eat it with Worcestershire sauce on top. I haven't made it in years because no one in the family likes tuna and I never thought about using chicken.
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