The other night, my mother-in-law (I don’t even like calling her that, because that seems so formal and she’s honestly just like another mama. I love her so much!) made us Thomas’ Great Grandma Lena’s Chicken & Broccoli Casserole. She said she used to make it all the time for Thomas & his sisters growing up for so many reasons. It was easy, she could prep it ahead, and everyone loved it/ devoured it every single time! So now I plan to bring the same recipe into our home to keep the tradition going. There is something so special about carrying on a family recipe and thinking about how Thomas’ great grandma Lena basically used the make the same one and had it on her table for her family. I love that. I hope to carry on the tradition! It’s basically the same as Lena’s, but Thomas’ mama upgraded it just a tad over the years. She removed some added and exchanged some for other options & it is FANTASTIC! So here it is 🙂

Ingredients:
-3 chicken breasts
-1/3 cup olive oil
-1/4 cup lemon juice
-fresh or dried parsley
-sea salt & pepper
-1.5 heads of broccoli
-1/2 cup cheddar cheese (use as much or as little as you’d like)

Directions:
Pat dry the chicken. Slice it in half lengthwise. Mix together the olive oil & lemon juice until whisked together well & starts looking thick. Place the chicken in a glass baking dish and pour the olive oil/ lemon mixture over the chicken breast. Season with fresh or dried parsley, sea salt & pepper. Bake chicken at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Cook until the pink is gone on the inside (it will cook again so it’ll be soft & done)!

While the chicken is cooking, cut the heads off of the broccoli. Blanch them in boiling water with sea salt. Cook until changes colors bright green. Transfer the broccoli to a baking dish (we used a 9x13in pyrex). It’s good to get a little bit of the water in the bottom of pan too to help the broccoli keep steaming. Set aside.

Once the chicken is done, let it cool. Then cut the chicken to your desired type (strips, cubes, etc.) Pour the chicken over the broccoli. Pour sauce (recipe below) over everything making sure it’s all covered. Sprinkle top with cheddar cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the foil, turn oven to broil & let the casserole broil for about 2-3 minutes until the top gets bubbly. Serve it over your rice of choice, we used wild rice!

Sauce Ingredients:
-2 12oz containers of organic cream of chicken condensed soup
-1/2 cup mayonnaise
-1/2 cup full-fat plain yogurt or sour cream
-1/4 cup water
-juice of 1 lemon
-2 tsp curry powder (you can use 1 tsp, or omit but really lends a good flavor!)

Mix all ingredients together until combined & creamy!

Then everything is done and ready to go! You could prep it ahead and do the final baking with the cheese right before dinner and store it in the fridge until then. Would be a great recipe to bring to a new mama, a friend in need, etc. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure! If you try it, make sure to tag me on Instagram (@restoring_radiance) so I can see your creation!

Xoxo,

Lex