Since we roast a whole chicken for lunch every Sunday, I am always looking for new recipes to use the leftover chicken. Click here to learn more about roasting a chicken.
I have several old standbys like Santa Fe Chicken Chili, Creamed Chicken, Chicken Tetrazzini, and Chicken Spaghetti.
Recently, I rediscovered a recipe that we had enjoyed in the early years of our marriage. It was just as good as I had remembered, and easy to put together.
I started out with 3 cups of cold, leftover brown rice and placed it in my trusty casserole dish, but a 9x13 pan would work perfect.
After cooking the frozen broccoli, I layered it on top of the brown rice followed by about 3 cups of leftover, cut up chicken pieces.
I’m a stickler for measure ingredients in baking. If you’ve taken my sourdough class, you know that I use a scale for weighing all ingredients, but I’m not that way when it comes to main dishes.
For this casserole, I simply used the rice and chicken that I had in the fridge without measuring.
If you don’t have leftover chicken, you can cook up some of our neck and backs which is a money saving option. You can watch me cooking necks and backs in my kitchen.
Next, I whipped up the sauce using cream and milk from Flowered Cow Dairy. The chicken broth came from the pan drippings of the roast chicken I had made on Sunday. The original recipe called for English or Cheddar cheese, but I only had Gouda so that’s what I used.
I poured the sauce over top and popped it in the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
I served it with a salad made from lettuce fresh from our garden. The meal got rave reviews from my family so I want to share it with you.
Diane's Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
INGREDIENTS
3 cups cooked rice
1 lb fresh broccoli, sliced in spears or frozen broccoli, cooked
3-4 cups chicken, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cup milk (use half and half for a richer sauce)
8 oz Old English cheese, Gouda cheese or sharp cheddar, grated
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Add the cooked rice to the bottom of the baking dish in a layer.
Steam broccoli for 2 minutes, and layer broccoli and chicken in baking dish.
Stir cornstarch into 1/2 cup cold water. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the melted butter, dissolved cornstarch, broth, seasonings, and milk. Cool until thick.
Add cheese, and stir until melted. Pour over chicken and broccoli. Bake 35 minutes. Enjoy!