Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

8 ounces of wide egg noodles
2 heaping cups of chicken meat
6 tablespoons of butter or chicken fat
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons tomato paste
6 tablespoons of flour
2 cups broth
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
At least half a sleeve of saltines
2 tablespoons of butter

Cook the noodles per the package instructions, drain them, and set them aside. Melt the chicken fat in a pan over medium-high heat, add the vegetables (but not the garlic), season them with salt and pepper, and cook them until they are soft and ever-so-slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook until it is golden and fragrant. Add the tomato paste, mix it in to the vegetables, and cook until it darkens in color. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until everyone is coated with the white powder. Cook it for a minute, to get rid of that raw flour flavor, decrease the heat, then slowly add the broth, stirring constantly to make a gravy. Do the same with the milk. Add the Worcestershire sauce, season as needed with salt and pepper, and stir in the chicken.

Add everything—including those noodles—to a casserole dish and mix it up good. Crush those saltines, and toss them with two tablespoons of melted (salted) butter. Sprinkle that on top. Place the whole mess in a 375-degree oven, and cooke until the sauce is bubbling on the edges and the saltine topping is golden and crispy.