Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Today we are making Thomas' Great Grandma Lena's cheesy chicken & broccoli casserole. 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' mom upgraded it just a tad over the years. She removed ingredients, added and exchanged some for other options & it is FANTASTIC! So here it is :)
Servings: 0
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice can decrease to 2 tbsp
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1½ heads of broccoli
Sauce:
- 24 oz organic cream of chicken condensed soup
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup full fat plain yogurt or sour cream
- ¼ cup water
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 tsp curry powder 1 tsp if you want less flavoring or omit completely
For Topping:
- ½ cup cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken. Slice it in half lengthwise if it's thick. Mix together the olive oil and lemon in a bowl until it starts looking thick. Place the chicken in a baking dish and pour the olive oil/ lemon mixture over the top. Then season the chicken with sea salt, pepper, and fresh or dried parsley. Bake at 350F degrees for about 20-25 minutes until it's no longer pink. It will cook again so just make sure it's not pink.
- 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. 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.
- Make the sauce. Add all the sauce ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Two notes, if you aren't super into lemon, you can decrease and use 1/2 or omit if you prefer. Last thing, the curry powder is how Thomas' mom does it but I actually prefer it without or with a little less!
- 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 over everything making sure it’s all covered. Sprinkle the 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 or with a side of fresh bread!
Notes
Note: You could prep it ahead and do the final baking with the cheese right before dinner and store it in the fridge until then.