I told you this was coming.

And hey, all you casserole haters, stop being snooty and embrace it.

By the way, I’m speaking to you from the past. I’ve prepared a few blog posts for Sheila to publish periodically while I’m in Thailand so that no one has to miss out on my special sarcasm for too long. You’re welcome.

Or she can choose to be an evil dictator and not publish them at all, in which case my post with 8,000 pictures from Thailand will be intentionally more obnoxious.

So currently it’s Christmas Eve, and I’m foodgawking for a dessert recipe for tomorrow and watching Drake and Josh with Kevin. According to Nickelodeon, they’re having an Amanda Show Marathon next week that I’m sorry to be missing. Maybe they’ll air it on my 15 hour flight.

Back to casserole. Molly and I had a conversation the other day about how some people despise the concept of casseroles, regardless of what’s in it. I say, everything gets pushed together on your plate anyway, so why not start that way?

Oriental Chicken

4-5 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cut into bite size pieces

4 cups chopped celery

4 tsp lemon juice

2 cups slivered almonds

4 small jars pimientos, drained

1 cup mayo

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 tsp salt

2 tsp minced onion

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 large can oriental noodles

I know, I know. My knife cuts would lead you to believe I spent the last semester at the Culinary Institute of America. Hold your applause.

Mix all ingredients together. The beauty of a casserole.

Top with oriental noodles (the reason for the title).

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes-1 hour, or until cheese bubbles. Can be served hot or cold. We usually eat it over white rice.

This time, my mom and I made a few adjustments, because tis the season to be overeating- and it was just as good. We used:

the regular amount of chicken

2 cups celery

no lemon juice (forgot about it)

1 cup almonds

2 jars pimientos

no mayo

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 tsp salt

no minced onion (couldn’t find it in our “spice rack” aka cardboard box of spices)

1 1/2 cups cheese

oriental noodles

It didn’t have as much “sauce” as usual that I like to mix into the rice, but it tasted really good and reheated well. So don’t hate the casserole.

Hate me for being on the beach right now.