Casserole #17 - Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #17 - Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

    I made up this recipe myself, and I hope you like it. It is simple and I thought pretty tasty. I used a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. You may want to use a 2 quart dish, as the 1 1/2 quart dish was really, full. I give a 30-45 minute window for cooking time; you'll want to keep an eye on the casserole. You want it golden brown on top, not burned!

Ingredients:

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth

1 cup Stove Top stuffing mix, crushed or bread crumbs

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

2 cups cooked white rice

12 oz frozen broccoli, cooked

chili pepper flakes, optional

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook broccoli. Combine rice, broccoli, chicken broth and soups in a large mixing bowl. Stir in seasoning, followed by 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Spray your casserole dish with cooking spray and pour the broccoli and rice mixture into dish. Top casserole with remaining half cup of cheese. Sprinkle with bread crumbs/crushed stuffing mix. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Serve with baked chicken or pork. 

Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

Yum Yum Chicken

 Yum Yum Chicken

    I know of Hy-Vee grocery stores from visiting family in Iowa a few Summers growing up and added this Hy-Vee 75th Anniversary cookbook to my collection a few years ago.  I had a poll between Yum Yum Chicken, Chicken Delight and 5-Hour Stew.  It's pretty obvious that Yum Yum Chicken won. 5-Hour Stew came in second and Chicken Delight was nowhere close. 

    This recipe was pretty easy and the finished dish was visually appealing.  I had three large chicken breasts which I cut up in chunks (that made up the 4 cups of cubed chicken). I cut up the chicken first and then cooked it and spread the chunks in the bottom of my glass 9x13 Pyrex pan. I mixed together the soups and sour cream; pouring that mixture over the chicken. I wasn't sure if it was going to be messy spreading this over the chicken, but it was fine. Next came the stuffing. I sprinkled the dry stuffing mix over the soups and sour cream 'layer'. This was finished off by pouring the melted butter and broth mixture over the stuffing layer.  I popped the pan in the oven, which I had pre-heated at 350 degrees, for 45 minutes.  It looked good and was bubbly when I took it out. And, it smelled good.  I let it cool a bit, not very long though, because I wanted to try it.

    The verdict? It was good, but tasted pretty salty to me and I try to watch my sodium intake. I want to make this again, but I will use low salt soups & broth and unsalted butter.  If a low sodium stuffing is available, I would think about trying that also. This recipe made a lot of food and could easily feed several people. A side salad would do well with this. It did re-heat well the next day for leftovers.  I have to admit though, that I ended up taking the chicken out, washing it off (classy, but I didn't not want to waste the meat) and disposed of the rest of the dish; I just couldn't deal with the saltiness.   You might try it as is and it is fine, but like I said, the next time I make it, I will definitely reduce the sodium as much as possible.

      Next up, I'll be making the 5-Hour Stew.