CHICKEN, BROCCOLI, QUINOA CASSEROLE RECIPE

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts (sliced into strips)

1 16 oz bag fresh broccoli florets

1 cup quinoa (uncooked and rinsed)

1 cup 2% milk

3 cups fat free chicken broth

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tsp poultry seasoning

Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously mist a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonfat cooking spray.

Place a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat, and pour in 2 cups of the broth and 1/2 cup milk. Bring to a boil, then whisk in the flour, poultry seasoning and remaining 1/2 cup milk. Whisk well until the sauce is creamy and smooth. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Pour into a large bowl.  To the large bowl of sauce, add remaining 1 cup broth and quinoa, and mix well.

Place broccoli florets evenly into baking dish, pour quinoa and sauce mixture over the broccoli.

Season chicken strips with salt and pepper and lay them evenly over top of the casserole.

Cover with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and stir around a bit.

Return to oven, uncovered this time, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until chicken is golden brown, and quinoa grains are cooked and tender.

Remove from oven and top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.  Makes 6 servings – 1 cup each

Comment:  I made this using cooked chicken and it worked great.  The combined flavors of the chicken, broccoli and quinoa are simply delicious.  The 2 food testers that were fortunate enough to try this both loved it.  It does make a lot and I had enough left over for the next day and it was even better reheated.  The flavors had blended and I enjoyed it even more.  I did use colby cheese instead of the mozzarella but that was the only change I made.

Broccoli/Cauliflower Chicken Casserole

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts - cooked, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. water

1-1/2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked

1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl combine all ingredients except the cheese.  Pour into casserole dish.  Cover with foil and bake 45-50 minutes or until rice is done.  Cover with cheese and cook another 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.  Serves 6-8

Comment:  This recipe started out using broccoli only but I had some cauliflower that needed to be used so I combined the 2.  It was also cooked on top of the stove but I decided to make mine in the oven which actually took longer due to the rice.  I also added the can of cream of chicken soup to make it creamer.  This turned out so good.  The 2 'food testers' that tried it simply wanted more.

Chicken Broccoli Rollups

1 stalk fresh broccoli
6 slices deli ham (1/8" thick, approx.)
6 slices cheese
6 strips leftover cooked chicken (1/2 x 1/2 x 4 long approx.)
horseradish sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut broccoli florets off the stalk.  Boil in water for about 5 minutes.  You want them about half way done.  Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.  Roll 2-3 broccoli florets and 1 piece of chicken in the cheese, then roll everything in the ham.  Place seam side down in baking dish.  After all six slices have been rolled, bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese has melted and the dish is hot.  Top with just a slight coating of horseradish sauce.  Serves 2 - 3

Martha:  I found the basic recipe for this in a 1974 cookbook.  The original called for broccoli, ham and Swiss cheese.  I made mine 4 different ways.  2 had Swiss cheese, 2 had cheddar cheese, 1 had Swiss cheese with chicken and 1 had cheddar cheese with chicken.  The original didn't call for the horseradish sauce but I thought it would be a great addition and believe me it was!  This is an easy, quick dish to make.  It's something you can whip up in no time and have not only a tasty dish but a healthy one too.  Now for changes - try covering the dish with Alfredo sauce when baking.

Freekeh Broccoli Chicken Cheese Torte

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Freekeh (or rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup broccoli tops, chopped finely
2 tsp. dried basil
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
salt & pepper to taste
Panko bread crumbs

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the oil.  Add onions and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions begin to brown.  Add Freekeh and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the Freekeh is tender and all of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in basil, thyme and broccoli.  Set aside, uncovered to cool slightly.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine milk, eggs, cheeses, and chicken breasts.  Stir in Freekeh mixture.  Spray an 8 1/2" springform pan with nonstick spray.  Spoon mixture in pan.  Bake 50 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and sprinkle with Panko.  Return to oven and cook another 5 minutes or until Panko has browned slightly.  To serve, cut into wedges.  Serves 6-8.

Martha:  This dish can be made with rice but I decided to give it a try using Freekeh.  That turned out to be a great ingredient change.  The original recipe called for more onions, which I cut down to 1/2 cup instead of 1.  It called for less cheese, which I increased up to 1/2 cup of each.  It also used 1/4 cup of parsley which I changed to the broccoli.  Plus I added the chicken.  This dish, served with a salad and roll make the perfect dish for any dinner.  

Food Tester Carol:  This was a delight to eat and made a perfect dinner with the addition of some sugar snap peas.  In addition to the freekah grain, it's like a quiche with egg, cheese, chicken and little bits of broccoli - in other words, a meal in itself  It bakes so that it is easily sliced into wedges.  There is a pleasing tanginess about the combination of ingredients, accentuated by the sprinkle of cheese on top.  This is easy to digest and very satisfying.