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!

Mama Gray's Potato Rolls

Good morning!

First off, I want to apologize for not having an article up that past few weeks. I had some family and business matters that required more time and energy than I had anticipated. I can't go into details. But let's just say it involves my Grandmother and tax identity theft. The IRS takes this sort of thing very seriously, even if you are the victim. I have always been a firm believer, and I hope you feel this way too, that Jesus and family should always come above everything else. 

Speaking of family, today I want to share with you a very old family recipe. Mama Gray's Potato Rolls have been in my family for decades. We make them for just about every holiday meal, religious feast, and especially St. Patrick's Days. 

Before we get into everything, I want to share with you the secret to this recipe. Instead of using cold regular tap water, use the cooled water that you used to boil the potatoes in. I know it doesn't seem like much of a secret, but it makes all the difference!

Ingredients 

1 Tbs yeast

1 1/2 Cup water (use the cooled water that you used to boil the potatoes in. It makes a huge difference.)

1 Cup unseasoned mashed potato

2/3 Cup sugar

2/3 Oil

2 Eggs

1 1/2 Salt

6 to 7 Cups flour

Instructions

Peel and quarter 2 medium potatoes. Boil them in a small pot till they are soft. (Just like mashed potatoes.)

Once your potatoes are done separate the potatoes and water. Let them both cool. The water needs to be between 100 to 110°F any warmer, and it will kill the yeast. Any cooler and the yeast will not activate.

Mash the potatoes and measure out 1 cup.

In a large bowl mix water and yeast. Then add sugar, oil, eggs, and mashed potato. Mix them together with a fork.

Add 5 cups of flour. Mixing it in with your fork one cup at a time.

Then sprinkle one cup (this will be cup #6) of flour down on your clean cutting board (or clean counter-top). Put the bread mix on top of the flour. Then sprinkle cup #7 of flour on top of dough. You should have flour-bread-flour layers. Now knead.

Don't over knead. Just knead in the flour till the bread is smooth. Should take about 1 1/2 minutes.

Now take a large, clean bowl and put about 1 Tbs of oil in the bottom of the bowl.

Place your bread on top of the oil swirl it around, flip it and swirl it again.

Cover the bowl with a clean hand-towel. Put the bowl in a warm place let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.

After the time is up preheat over to 400°F.

Sprinkle a little flour on your clean cutting board or clean counter-top. Divide bread in half, then into fourths and so on until you reach 16.

Place into two greased pie pans. And place them in the oven. Turn down the temp to 350°F. Cook for 25 to 35 minutes.

Thank you for your patience and bearing with me. I promise I will try to be on time from now on!