Broccoli Chicken Divan

I have a special treat this week! This blog post and recipe are from my mom! She made this really yummy chicken casserole last week, and I told her she had to share it on the Barefoot Country Cooking blog. So, without further ado here is my mom and her amazing Broccoli Chicken Divan! - Amelia Gray

Good morning! We are having fantastic Pacific Northwest weather here this spring, rainy and chilly. Therefore I am able to cook and bake still inside the house and not have to do it out in our summer kitchen. I am spending my time baking cookies and trying out new recipes. Here is one I found a couple of weeks that was a great hit and used up some of our pantry and refrigerator staples we had on hand. I have tweaked it a little to our liking and doubled it to feed all of us plus leftovers for lunches. 

This is a quick and easy chicken and broccoli recipe that everyone will love, plus an easy way to get your young children to eat broccoli. 

Ingredients

2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped

3 cups diced chicken (a store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken makes this recipe even quicker)

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Pepper 

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2/3 cup half and half

1 cup sour cream

2 cups cheese 

1/4 cup melted butter

1 roll bacon ritz crackers, ground into crumbs, or any other breadcrumbs 

Directions

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Grease 2 8x8 pans. 

Book broccoli until tender, but not overcooked and mushy. ( My preferred way is in the pressure cooker for three minutes with a cup of water in the cooker. It keeps the minerals and vitamins in it, is quicker, and doesn't heat up the kitchen.)

Chop raw chicken and cook in a skillet. Season to taste with garlic and onion powder, and pepper. (There are two ways to do this. 1. In water, which will produce a softer and more tender chicken, making it easier to eat, if you have picky people who want that. 2. Or sauté in oil which will produce a golden brown crust on the outside of your chicken and will give you a more chewer, more flavorful result.)

Drain chicken on paper towels. 

Mix soup, milk, sour cream, 1 cup of cheese. If using leftover chicken then season with garlic and onion powder, and pepper to taste. 

Add chicken. 

Place soup mixture, divided, into the two pans. 

Add cooked broccoli, divided, and stir gently. 

Cover with cheese. 

Melt butter and mix with Ritz cracker crumbs. 

Top both pans and cook until bubbly and light brown. 

Let cool and enjoy!