Easy Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole

I don't like to make a rue. For anything. Ever. So, I developed this easy recipe for a broccoli and chicken casserole.

INGREDIENTS:
6 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 4 large
1 large crown of fresh broccoli (makes close to 2 cups when cooked)
1 can Cream of Chicken or Cream of Broccoli (98% fat free/lower sodium)
2% milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tsp ground sage (approximately)
1/2 tbsp each of garlic powder and thyme (approximately)
Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil chicken in large pot of salted water til done and remove from heat and pot

2. Cut broccoli into florets and blanch or steam until it starts getting soft, and then remove from heat and drain

3. Put soup into a saucepan with a can of milk (as can's directions show)

4. After soup and milk combine and are warm, add all spices except salt, and then, gradually stir in the cheddar til melted

5. Once chicken and broccoli cool, chop them both and place in a mixing bowl - add a small amount of salt, maybe a tsp or two

6. Pour soup in the mixing bowl and stir to combine all ingredients

7. Pour broccoli-chicken-soup mixture into a baking dish

8. Sprinkle Panko crumbs evenly over the top

9. Bake approximately 20-25 minutes at 425 & let it set and cool for about 10 minutes before eating

10. Serve alone or with rice or pasta

Ryan ate the casserole with orzo pasta, but I was happy to just enjoy the cheesy deliciousness by itself.

Baked Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Jalapeno Jack and Spinach

Man, oh, man...was this a delicious meal!

INGREDIENTS:

4 Small or 2 large chicken breasts
***I strongly recommend The Choppin' Block for chicken breasts. They're not huge, which means they're hormone-free, and it makes them much easier to cook. Plus, they taste great and have a really good texture.
1 Cup shredded Jalapeno Jack, or if you don't like the spice, you can use regular Jack cheese
1 Large handful of baby spinach
1/2 Tbsp Panko bread crumbs
1Tbsp olive oil
Seasoning Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 Cup broccoli
1 Cup baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Slice down the thickest side of the chicken breast so that you can "open it up"

2. Put 1/4 of the shredded cheese (or 1/2 if you're using the large breasts) on the "opened-up" chicken breasts

3. Put 1/4 of the spinach (or 1/2) on top of the cheese

4. Lightly sprinkle some Panko on the spinach

5. Fold chicken over so that it's back together/"closed" and use toothpicks to tightly secure it

6. Sprinkle seasoning salt and black pepper on top of the chicken (amount is up to you)

7. Follow steps 1-6 for the remaining chicken and place chicken in glass baking dish (treated with nonstick spray)

8. Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes

9. About halfway through cook time, brush olive oil (or melted butter) on top of chicken to get it to come to a golden brown color

9. Blanch broccoli in water on the stove for about 2 minutes

10. Remove broccoli from hot water, place in a colander, and run cool water over it (to stop the cooking)

11. Put butter and minced garlic in a skillet and saute garlic for a couple of minutes over med-low to med heat

12. Add mushrooms to skillet and saute for about 5 minutes, add a few dashes of soy sauce and stir occasionally

13. Add broccoli to the skillet, stir broccoli, mushrooms, garlic together and saute for about 5 more minutes

SERVE!

I LOVED the broccoli and mushrooms cooked together this way! We will definitely make this side again and will probably try it with other sauces/ spices.

The chicken was perfect! You could also grill them...once the "burn ban" is over! :-/ If Ryan could have grilled them, that's probably what he would've done, but they turned out great baked.

Try using different cheeses and veggies to stuff the chicken, if you like. Feta would've been good with the spinach, also. (Ryan has done that combo before when making chicken breasts spirals.) If you try this recipe or your own variation, let us know how it turns out!

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Hamburger Steak with Mushrooms and Broccoli & Cheese

HAMBURGER STEAK with MUSHROOMS:

1. Pat out hamburger patties, sprinkle with salt, black pepper and garlic powder
2. Cook in skillet over low to med-low heat, slowly so it will crust
3. Flip when the liquid really starts to come out of the meat
4. After flipping, add a few dashes of worchestershire sauce; cook until done
5. Put sliced and washed mushrooms into a skillet with about 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil
6. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper; and cook over medium heat; stir
7. Add a small splash of vegetable stock; cook over med-low heat until liquid is absorbed
8. Serve hamburger steak with the mushrooms on top

BROCCOLI & CHEESE:

1. Wash and trim broccoli - about 2 to 2.5 cups
2. Put in water in pot on stove; bring to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is as tender as you like it
3. In another small pot, melt 3 Tbsp of butter
4. Slowly add 1-1.5 Tbsp of flour while wisking - it should become thick and smooth
5. Slowly add 1/2-3/4 cup of milk (I use 2%) while continuing to wisk
6. Add 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar (or whatever kind of cheese you wish) and stir til completely melted
You can add more cheese if you need to make the sauce thicker...just keep adding small amounts until it gets to the consistency and flavor you like.
7. Add black pepper to sauce and stir well
8. Drain broccoli and serve with the sauce poured over it

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Ryan poured the cheese sauce over his hamburger steak, too, which he said was fantastic. ;-)

Chicken Broccoli Penne Pasta

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE broccoli pasta dishes! The funny thing is, I didn't even know I liked broccoli until I was around 23 or 24 years old. My mom doesn't like it, so I never had it growing up. But, now, I eat broccoli at least twice a week and sometimes three times a week. I think my mom is proud of me - especially since she didn't think she'd ever see the day I would eat a vegetable!

Ingredients:

• Three small chicken breasts from The Choppin' Block
• Fresh broccoli florets, about 1.5-2 cups
• Barilla Penne Pasta
• Ragu Light Parmesan Alfredo Sauce
• Low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

1. Cube and brown the chicken with salt and black pepper in a large/deep skillet; Once the chicken gets some color, add the garlic and about a 1/4 cup of chicken broth; Let it simmer
2. Bring a pot of water to boil, add salt, add pasta (enough for two servings); Cook til al dente
3. Steam or simmer your broccoli for about 5 minutes; it should be just beginning to soften in the stalk
4. After chicken has simmered and the liquid has reduced some, add alfredo sauce (enough for two servings - which is more than the bottle says - we use about half the bottle when we have other ingredients in the dish besides pasta); Add broccoli and let simmer
5. Add pasta to the sauce and stir; pasta should be coated well and all the ingredients "mixed" well
6. Serve and EAT!

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