Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

I enjoy when I can find a nice hearty meal, but a lightened up version of it. Dan makes a killer chicken, broccoli and rice casserole. but it's loaded with mayo and cheese. When I saw this in a recent issue of Cooking Light I got in the mail, I knew I had to try it.

Here's the catch, it's definitely healthier than our version of the casserole, but it tastes healthier. And not in that "this tastes fresh and good for me" way, but in that "this needs more seasoning, cheese, unhealthiness" kind of way. Overall, it seemed a little bland. Next time, I'll add some seasonings to it to give it a little more flavor. It wasn't bad, but just bland and left me wanting more flavor to it.

This was last night's dinner. I needed something simple because I had already stayed after work late to finish up the MCAS binder that gets submitted to the state on Thursday (see ya later, binder!). Sometimes I go off on tangents in my blog posts, but I will not allow myself to go off on a tangent about my thoughts on the MCAS. I promise! Or the new PARCC assessment....

Need to redirect my thoughts and focus back on food. My brain is now just wracked with thoughts of public education. Gahhhh! Ok...food, food, food. Oh yeah, so this was last night's dinner. A nice easy one so I could throw some dinner in before getting to work on some classroom planning. My night tonight consisted of a quick stir-fry dinner, baking my cake for cake class, baking one set of cupcakes (one more to go), and making two batches of Wilton buttercream. One batch for cake class and the other I played around with for cupcakes I'm making. Their buttercream, which is butter-less, doesn't hold up to a traditional buttercream. I now kind of wish I had made a traditional buttercream, but experimenting is always fun! More on that to come...

The following is the original recipe. In my recipe I omitted the mushrooms or else Dan would have starved...

Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
from January/February 2014 Cooking Light

1 (12 oz) pkg. steam-in-bag broccoli florets, prepare according to package.
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 cup pre-chopped onion (I used frozen)
2 (8 oz) pkgs. pre-sliced mushrooms
3 tbsp. flour
1.5 cups fat-free milk
12 oz. chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp.salt
2 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
1 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup)

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Heat a large, oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add onions and mushroom and cook about 10-12 minutes, or until mushrooms brown and liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.
3. Sprinkle mushroom mixture with flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or until thick and bubbly.
4. Stir in broccoli and chicken. Cook for one minute then remove from heat.
5. Stir in the yogurt, mayo, salt and pepper. Top evenly with cheeses and broil for 2 minutes until cheese melted.
6. Serve. I served mine over white rice to add a little more to it.