January Comfort: Just 4 ingredients. I make it when I want dinner handled hours ahead.

This creamy Swiss chicken bake is the kind of no-fuss, stick-to-your-ribs supper that has graced Midwestern church potlucks and Sunday tables for decades. It’s built on the sort of pantry shortcuts farm wives leaned on when the day ran long, the chores weren’t quite done, and there were still hungry mouths to feed. Just four ingredients, a single pan, and the oven does most of the work while you tidy the kitchen or sit a spell. The chicken bakes up tender under a blanket of melted Swiss and a rich, tangy cream sauce that feels like something your mother or grandmother might have pulled from the oven on a cold night. It’s the kind of recipe you make when you want comfort without complication—simple enough for a weeknight, but cozy enough to serve when family drops by unannounced, as they often do out here.

This dish loves the same company our old Sunday roasts did. Spoon the creamy chicken and sauce over a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles so every drop has somewhere to go. Steamed green beans or peas with a little butter and salt bring a nice bit of color to the plate, and a simple lettuce salad with a mild dressing keeps things from feeling too heavy. If you’re the type who likes bread on the table, warm dinner rolls or a thick slice of crusty country bread are perfect for mopping up the extra sauce. And if there’s a jar of homemade pickles or a little dish of applesauce in your fridge, set that out too—those small, bright bites are exactly what my mother would have added to round out a meal like this.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)
8 slices Swiss cheese
1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Cooking spray or a little butter, for greasing the baking dish