Grandma's Chicken Casserole

I made this last week. It was a winner, and it opened up a whole world of casseroles made with noodles and cream of chicken soup. So many tasty, fattening possibilities!

Chicken Casserole

1 8-oz package wide egg noodles
4 chicken breasts or equivalent amount of whole chicken
1 10-1/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon margarine, melted

Cook chicken until tender and debone and cut in bite-sized pieces. Cook the noodles in the chicken broth until tender and drain. Mix chicken soup, mayo, lemon juice and curry powder to blend. Grease 9x13" casserole and place one half of the noodles, chicken and the soup mixture; then another layer of each and cover with grated cheese and bread crumbs fried in the margarine, if you wish. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

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I made this pretty much as written, except that I doubled the lemon juice and the curry powder and did not fry the breadcrumbs. Also, there was no chicken broth to work with (not sure what Grandma meant there), so I pan-fried some boneless chicken breasts. It was tasty, though Jeff thought it would have been better without the doubled curry. I know there are about a gazillion variations on this recipe, and I'd like to try creating a healthier, lower fat, spicier version. Maybe cut the mayo, add some garlic, roasted green chiles and chopped scallions? Also, roasted hicken would add a little flavor. All in all, an easy weeknight dinner and good jumping off spot for future improvisations.