Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

A Quick Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

An easy flavor packed meal For the broccoli lovers and haters…

A Quick Chicken and Broccoli Casserole. An easy flavor packed meal for broccoli lovers and haters that will get them eating their veggies.

Getting the family to sit and enjoy a full meal where everyone likes what’s on the menu is difficult. Especially when there are green vegetables involved. How do you get the whole family to eat and enjoy their much needed vegetables that offer so many important nutrients. Especially our favorite vegetable… the BROCCOLI!

We do have ways to enjoy eating them that have been introduced over the years like pouring a little melted cheddar cheese on them. But let’s face it, most of the time broccoli is an acquired taste for most. Mixing ingredients together often masks or hides the taste of something in it all together. But just because the taste isn’t there does not mean the nutrients have magically disappeared as well. So let’s mix it up, hide the taste, and get the nutrients where they belong… into our family’s belly.

So here is a dish that the whole family will enjoy while eating that much loved broccoli. This easy to assemble dinner idea will cover all the basics of a well balanced meal including the meat, starchy vegetable and non-starchy vegetable, the meat plus two approach. Chicken covers the meat portion, the egg noodles account for the starch, and the broccoli stands in for the non-starchy vegetable. And the taste will be quite agreeable.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• • • • Egg Noodles.
      • Chicken breasts.
      • Fresh or frozen broccoli.
      • Canned ‘Cream of Broccoli’ soup.
      • Shredded cheddar cheese (optional).

And who wouldn’t love a creamy chicken casserole with noodles and broccoli topped with shredded cheddar cheese. The flavors by themselves are delicious enough but combined? Mmm… Mmm… Good! So without further ado let’s get to it.

INGREDIENTS:

• • • • (1 bag) Egg Noodles.
      • 3 to 4 Chicken breasts.
      • 2 lbs Fresh or 2 bags  frozen broccoli.
      • 1 to 2 Can(s) ‘Cream of Broccoli’ soup.

PREP:

Season the chicken to taste and then cook  to an internal temperature of no less than 165 degrees. While the chicken is cooking you can take that time to boil the egg noodles until they are mostly tender. If using fresh peas, this would also be a good time to steam to soften them. Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred or cut the chicken into pieces. Now it is time to combine the ingredients.

COMBINING:

In a large mixing bowl add can(s) of ‘Cream of Broccoli’ soup. Add half of the indicated amount of water. With a fork, mix the soup until all the lumps are removed and mix is smooth and creamy. Add in the chicken, the broccoli, and the noodles. Mix further until the chicken, broccoli, and noodles are covered. Pour mixture into casserole dish. And we are ready to bake in the oven.

COOKING:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes or until it is bubbling. Pull the casserole dish out of the oven and spread some shredded cheddar cheese (optional) on it and continue baking for 5 minutes. Let casserole sit for a minute and serve hot.

And there you have it. Another flavorful dish with easy prep that the whole family can appreciate. You may even want to make extra and freeze some for another night. Bon Appetit’.