Broccoli Chicken Casserole

It snowed just a little bit here in Michigan yesterday, and a little more today, and potentially more tomorrow, so in honor of the colder weather I made some comfort food.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

1 cup Rice (cooked according to the package)

1 lb Chicken cubed (I used organic chicken tenderloins)

3 tbsp Butter

3 tbsp Flour

2 1/2 cups Milk (I used whole)

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

salt & pepper

1 cup White Cheddar (shredded)

1/2 cup Sharp Yellow Cheddar (shredded)

1 head Broccoli chopped

Bread Crumbs: Use store bought or follow my homemade version

3 slices Whole Wheat Bread (use the heel of the bread if you have it)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tbsp minced Garlic

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Cook your rice in a pot large enough to pour all the ingredients into later on (you can combine all the ingredients in a separate bowl, but this will save from another dirty dish). While the rice cooks, brown your cubed chicken in a pan over medium heat. Depending on your pan you can use a little olive oil if you need. Salt and pepper the chicken while it cooks.

Turn the chicken to low to finish cooking and melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Once the butter is melted add the flour one table spoon at a time while you stir.

Once it is thick allow to cook about 3 minutes, and stir the whole time. Slowly add the milk, while continuing to stir.

Once all the milk has been combined, add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the milk. This will need to simmer over low heat while it thickens, about 5-7 minutes.

I know it feels like a lot is going on in a bunch of different pans, but if your chicken is done cooking or close just turn it off, it will continue to cook in the oven.

Add your shredded cheese to the milk.

You are now ready to combine all your ingredients!

To my rice pot I added the chicken, cheese sauce, and broccoli.

Pour the casserole into your casserole dish.

For the Bread Crumbs. I ripped up three slices of bread and put them in my food processor.

I added a little olive oil and minced garlic to my now empty chicken pan and heated to medium, once the garlic is fragrant add the bread crumbs.

You want the heat to be high enough for the bread to toast, while they cook add italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Toast bread crumbs about 4 minutes.

Distribute the bread crumbs across the top of the casserole.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

There is butter in Butter Chicken, but not much so don’t be alarmed.

Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

3 tbl Butter

1 Medium Yellow Onion

1 tbl Minced Garlic

1 1/2 tsp Minced Ginger (or ground)

1 tsp Garam Masala (which is a blend of spices I didn’t have so I blended 1/4 tsp of each: black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. Go heavy on the pepper)

1/4 tsp Cayenne (I went light on spice for my kiddos, feel free to add more)

1 tsp Salt

1 lb Chicken (I used organic chicken tenderloins via http://www.doorganicsgr.com)

1 can (14.5 oz) Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1 can (15oz) Tomato Sauce

1/3 cup Whole Milk (you can use cream if you prefer)

1 cup Peas (frozen works great)

Place butter, chopped onion, garlic, ginger, ‘garam masala’, cayenne, salt and chicken in crockpot.

Go outside with a handsome little man and play.

(If you are leaving the house and won’t be back until its time to eat just add everything into the Crock Pot except the cream and peas, add those just before serving and should only need a few minutes to cook).

When you come back from you’re play date the slower cooker should look like this:

Add tomatoes and tomato sauce. When you are ready to serve add milk and peas, and allow to cook for a few minutes.

I cooked some rice while the peas and milk simmered and served with store bought Naan.

Family Reviews:

Brandon “We should eat this every night.”

Addy “It’s good, I like the bread.”

Lulu “I only like the bread.”

Wyatt (ate 2 bowls)

Happy Friday! Have an amazing weekend!

We called it ‘Dirty Rice’…

Dirty Rice

(Rice Bowl, Kielbasa Risotto, Rice and Sausage….I don’t know what you want to call it, but it was good)

1 lb Kielbasa

2 tbl Olive Oil

1 Medium Yellow Onion

1/2 pint Grape Tomatoes

1 Handful chopped kale (or spinach/brussel sprouts)

1/4 cup White Wine

1 tbl minced Garlic

salt & pepper

1 cup Rice (I used brown)

1 cup Broth (I used veggie broth)

1 can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)

1 tsp Sirracha

1 jar Salsa (I used a homemade jar of my moms)

Toppings: Avocado, cilantro, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce, whatever tickles your fancy

Brown the Kielbasa in the olive oil

I chop the veggies(onion, kale, tomatoes) while it browns, then remove the kielbasa and allow to cool. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and allow the alcohol to cook off for about 1 minute.

Add the chopped veggies, garlic, salt & pepper.

Reduce heat and cover, stirring frequently.

Once the onions are translucent and the kale has wilted, ‘squoosh’ the veggies to one side and add rice.

Allow the rice to toast for a few minutes before adding broth. Check your rice instructions for cooking time(I used instant brown so this was a quick meal).

While the rice cooks, chop the kielbasa (on an angle if you’re feeling fancy) and add back to the pan when rice is finished ie all the liquid has absorbed.

Add beans, sirracha, salsa and stir together.

I topped mine with avocado, cilantro, and some Frank’s Hot Sauce (because I really do put that sh*t on everything).

Feel free to substitute the kielbasa for chorizo, chicken or steak. What would you put in your dirty rice?

Chicken Sweet Potato Soup with Rice

Nothing like a little inspiration from your butter before you start cooking.

Chicken Sweet Potato Soup with Rice

2 Tbl Butter

1 medium Onion (I used a yellow)

4 medium Carrots

2 small Sweet Potatoes

2 Tbl minced Garlic

2 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp Thyme

1 lb Chicken (I used tenderloins)

1 1/2 cups Brown Rice

1/2 cup White Wine (I had a Riesling open, just use what you have)

2 1/2 – 3 cups Chicken Broth

1 Bay Leaf

Saute onions, butter, salt & pepper until onions become translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Chop carrots and sweet potatoes and add to onions.

Push the veggies to one side of the pot and brown chicken on the other, I cubed the chicken up before browning it. Once chicken has cooked, I deglaze the pan with the white wine. Which is just a fancy way of saying, scrape the brown chicken and veggie bits off the bottom of the pan because they add a lot of flavor and you want that in the broth. Allow the wine to cook a bit before adding rice and chicken broth, maybe 2 minutes. I add enough broth to cover the rice, and once the rice cooks you may want to add a little more. Add a bay leaf while the rice simmers, depending on what type of rice you use this could be ready to eat in about 10 minutes, but with most things in life…the longer it cooks the better it tastes.

Enjoy and please share how your soup turns out! What did you garnish your soup with?