Day 15: Chicken Broccoli Casserole

"ooooooohhhhh, we're half way there...."

This is a childhood favorite of mine, but my mother has never made it. Jane does. I have been with Paul for 12 years, so I have had many dinners with the Fraser family and this is by far my favorite. I love everything about it, except making it myself. I ALWAYS overcook the chicken, but that might have to do with what happened the first time I ever attempted to make it...


Laurie, Paul's sister, was down at ISU visiting us. I lived in a house at the time with 4 roommates, and we tried to cook every night. Since Laurie was coming I asked her to bring the recipe with her from home. I was super excited to share the recipe with all the girls. Laurie and I took out all the ingredients and got to work. Though she had had the dish close to 100 times, she had never made it before either. We were the blind leading the blind, but as we put the casserole in the oven we were pretty damn proud of ourselves. 45 minutes later that elation faded. The chicken was still raw and the salmonella juices were floating atop the broccoli mixture. We immediately called Jane and she asked us why we didn't cook the chicken first. Yet another case of being Mary Tyler Moored. Nowhere in the recipe did it say to cook the chicken prior to laying it in the casserole. We were bummed, but that's all I remember. I'm not sure if we fished out the chicken, cooked it and put it back in, though that doesn't seem very sanitary, or if we just dumped it all in the garbage and ordered pizza*. Either way, I've had a fear of undercooked chicken ever since.

I love this dish so much that it is what was waiting for me when I brought Austin home from the hospital. It was not waiting for me when I got home with Peyton because it made Austin very upset that first night which made me upset.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole
2 pkgs of Chicken Breast Tenders, cut in chunks
2 10 oz bags of Frozen Broccoli florets, cooked
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup mayo
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup dried stuffing(Stove top or Pepperidge Farm)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Step 1: COOK chicken and cut into chunks

Step 2: Cook broccoli. I buy the Jewel steam in the bag to save time

Step 3: Mix chicken soup, mayo, lemon juice, pepper, curry powder in small bowl.

Step 4: Put broccoli on bottom of 9 x13 pan. Than chicken. Than sauce

Step 5: top with cheese


Step 6: melt butter and mix with stuffing. top casserole with stuffing


Step 7: Bake casserole for 45 minutes at 350 degrees


Kitchen Play by Play: I boil the chicken probably too long. I use low fat soup, cheese, and mayo. The cheese doesn't melt as much as regular, but the taste is still there. Prep is under 20 minutes, but it does produce a few more dishes than I'd like. I do not measure the cheese or the stuffing. I like a lot of both. Plus, it's an all in one meal. Veggie...check. Protein...check. Starch...check. This is literally the only thing I put on the dinner table. I like not having to think about side dishes, etc.



The Finished Product

The Verdict:

Nicole- Surprise, surprise. I overcooked the chicken. However, the taste was still fantastic. I ate around the chicken. My broccoli casserole always gets about a 3. If Jane had brought it, it would be a strong 5.

Paul-gives it a 5. Chicken Gooooood, Broccoli Goooood, Soup Gooooood, Stuffing Goooood. Put it all together and it's Goooooooooooooooooood.

Austin- loves this. He ate everything on his plate. Why? Because it's good. Really why? one word...BROCCOLI!!!!

* I read this to Paul right before posting, and he said that we DID fish out the chicken, boil it and return it to the casserole. Sounds disgusting but explains my intense fear of raw chicken even more.