Chicken Broccoli Casserole

A warm comforting dish for those cold raining winter nights when you need to warm your soul!

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

This is one of my favorite winter time dishes, it is warm and comforting on those cold rainy winter nights. The original recipe was from one of my Grandmothers and my best guess is its origins come from the post world war 2 era of using a mix of fresh and canned ingredients to create quick casseroles for busy working families. When I was growing up I could always tell this was what was for dinner before walking into the house as the smell would fill the air. Be sure to use curry powder that is not spicy - sometimes it's labeled as sweet or mild curry.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boiled chicken breast (3 to 4 chicken breasts)

• 1/3 - 1/2 pound of crisp tender broccoli

• 2 10.5 oz cans of Cream of Chicken Soup

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise

• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp. curry powder

• 1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Boil chicken breast until fully cooked, boil for about 25 - 30 minutes.

3. Steam broccoli until crispy tender. Don't over cook as it will cook more when baking the casserole.

4. Butter a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.

5. Layer bite sized pieces of the chicken and lightly salt with kosher salt, about 1 tsp.

6. Place broccoli on top of the chicken, pressing down to create a smooth layer. Large pieces sticking up will make the following steps difficult.

7. Stir the soup to loosen it up, then pour it over the chicken and broccoli layer.

8. Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry powder, and pour over soup layer.

9. Spread out the curry mayonnaise mixture being sure not to stir it into the soup.

10. Bake for 45 minutes until top has just started to brown.

11. Toast almonds in a dry pan until browned and extra crunchy. Reservie until ready to serve.

Bite sized piece of chicken in the buttered casserole dish

Add broccoli

Cream of Chicken soup layer

Curry Mayonnaise added to the top. Be sure not to stir into the soup layer

Serve over white rice, I prefer to add a little butter to the rice before topping with the chicken broccoli casserole but that is just me. Finish with the toasted almonds and enjoy. If you are plating this right out of the oven, be sure to let it cool off before digging in. This dish has caused me some of the worst burns to my tongue because I could not wait for it to cool off. Remember life is too short to eat bad food so warm up your cold winter nights with this easy comforting chicken broccoli casserole.