Chicken and Broccoli Bake

Okay, this has fast become a family favorite. Each time I make it, I do not measure anything...so this time I measured it all out! Disclosure: I am aware that this is not a novelty type meal. I know versions of this exist...this is just what I do for my family.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts
2 cups frozen broccoli (16 ounce bag of chopped broccoli is what I used)
2 cups Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned Stuffing (or your choice)
2 cups cheese
2 servings Cream of X Soup (or 2 cans Cream of Chicken...I like making mine though)

Instructions:

First dice the chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper

Then toss into a preheated and oiled pan

While the chicken is cooking, take a sauce pan and begin making your Cream of X Soup

Start the roux by melting 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of butter

Once the butter is melted and starts bubbling, add 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of flour

Whisk together and allow to brown slightly

Add your milk and chicken broth - 1 cup of each 

Tip have this prepared before you start the roux...it can go from browned to burned really quickly...

...not that I know that from experience or anything

Stir together until it reaches boiling and then set aside off of heat (I just move it to the back burner)

If the mixture is not thick enough, you can add a little more flour....like a teaspoon of flour at a time...whisk together well and bring the mixture to a boil again....if it is too thick (it won't be) just add some more butter, again, a teaspoon at a time.

Next, in a casserole dish, pour out the bag of frozen broccoli

Okay...so I wrapped my dish in foil so that clean up would be easier, and the bottom ripped while stirring my ingredients, so I would NOT recommend the foil...unless you like fishing out bits of aluminum out of your meal...yuck

Then add your diced chicken. FYI: if you want to add some of your cream of X soup to the chicken while cooking, that is also a good idea...I did that last time and liked how it kept the chicken moist.

 Take your Stuffing Mix of choice:

This is seriously the best.

And add half (1 cup) to dish

Then add half (1 cup) of the cheese. FYI you CAN add more cheese...I almost always do.

and your soup mix

and stir together until combined

Next take the remaining cheese (1 cup...or more) and sprinkle on top, followed by the remaining breadcrumbs (one cup) and sprinkle those on top. 

Then put dabs of butter over the top of your casserole (about 4 tablespoons)

Cook in oven preheated to 375 degrees F for 30-45 minutes (until cheese is bubbly/center is hot)

Serve with corn and enjoy....well, that's how we do it.

Okay, so I have a confession...I was actually worried sharing this recipe with you because when I made it turned out dry........then I realized what happened. For some reason I only added 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour for my roux! I'm so glad THAT riddle is solved. Believe it or not, that extra 2 tablespoons makes a HUGE difference. Now that I know, I am going to stick by this recipe for sure! 

Also, I'm sure you could skip the "cook the diced chicken" part, but then you would want to bake it for about an hour so that all the chicken gets cooked through properly....I do it this way because I like dealing with cooked chicken better...

ALSO you could just add frozen diced chicken (Tyson has this) and skip the cooking part and the raw part! 

Well, that's all for today. I don't have pictures of the kiddos because we haven't had any photo sessions lately. Maybe tomorrow :)