Pumpkin Sage Chicken Casserole - A perfect fall recipe to fit the season.

Pumpkin Perfection

Fall happens to be one of my favorite seasons for many different reasons: weather, food, boots, long jackets, fireplaces, NaNoWriMo… There are really too many for me to list.

Let’s start with food. I love pumpkin. Love it.
With life being hectic with NaNoWriMo and everything else that’s going on, I figured it was time to break out a can of pumpkin. Of course in doing so, I almost burnt the house down and ingested a bunch of poisonous fumes, but hey that’s life. (Note to reader and self: Do not accidentally put a silicone pot holder on the stove, under your pot after draining orzo, forget about it, then turn the stove on. Life will be a lot easier and your dog won’t imitate Lassie trying to get your attention.)

Sage Pumpkin Chicken Casserole mixed with cheesy goodness, chicken, and orzo. You can use this as a main dish or as a side. If you use it as a side, feel free to take out the chicken. This also works with left over chicken if you just want to throw that into the dish instead of cooking new chicken.

Sage Pumpkin Chicken Casserole

Author: Carolann Lucian
Cook Time: 35
Total Time: 35

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 box (16 oz)Orzo
32 ozChicken Stock
2 cupsWater
1.5 lbsChicken
25 Sage Leaves, sliced
29 ozPumpkin Puree
2 clovesGarlic, minced
1 cupParmesan Cheese
1 cup Goat Cheese or Feta Cheese
3 TBSPButter
1 cupBread Crumbs (Garlic and Herb)
1 tspSalt
1 tspPepper

Instructions

Bring chicken stock and water to a boil. Add orzo and cook till done.
While orzo is cooking, cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Use 1 TBSP of butter and brown chicken in a large pot (I used a dutch oven). Season chicken with salt and pepper to your liking (NOT the 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper–that comes later).
Slice sage into ribbons. You can do this by placing the leaves on top of each other and rolling them together. Slice with a sharp knife and unravel.
Once chicken is browned, add pumpkin, garlic, sage, goat cheese, and parmesan into the pot with the chicken. Mix together and add salt and pepper.
When orzo is done, drain, then add to the pot, mixing well.
Place all ingredients in a buttered 11 x 8 baking dish.
Melt 2 TBSP of butter and mix with 1 cup of bread crumbs until all of the crumbs become a little clumpy.
Place crumbs on top of the dish and cover with foil.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, remove foil and bake again for another 15 minutes.