Comfort Food Makeover

One of my favorite food memories is eating Chicken and Broccoli Casserole at Camp McDowell.  Sounds strange, especially since I’ve never really loved broccoli, but there was just something special about their recipe that, in my opinion, really said Comfort Food.  I have no idea if they even make that anymore.  If they don’t, campers and counselors alike are really missing out. 

One summer, I actually asked the ladies in the kitchen for the recipe for this tasty dish, but between many moves and transitions, that little piece of paper has fallen by the wayside.  Thankfully, Pinterest has come to my rescue.  I found this awesome recipe, but once I started looking at it from a health-conscious perspective, I quickly lost my excitement about making it.  Because I’m not willing to give up that easily, I decided to slim it down to a more figure-friendly recipe.  It was DELICIOUS!!  I had to share so all of my fellow CBC lovers could enjoy as well!         

Slimmed Down Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

3 c. cooked chicken, shredded*

1 lb. broccoli, broken down into pieces**

5 T. butter, divided

1 ½ sleeves reduced-fat Ritz crackers (about 54 crackers)

½ c. onion, diced

½ c. chicken broth

¼ c. cornstarch, mixed with ¼ c. water

2 c. skim milk

1 1/2 c. reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided

Salt

Pepper

A dash of paprika

Non-stick cooking spray

Spray a 13x9 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray.  Spread chicken in the bottom of the pan.  Next, add the broccoli on top of the chicken.  Sprinkle the top of the casserole with about 1/4 c. of the shredded cheese.  Set aside until sauce is ready.  For the sauce, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pot.  Add onion and sauté until translucent.  Add chicken broth, milk, salt, pepper, and paprika.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Once mixture is boiling, remove from heat.  Add cornstarch mixture, whisking vigorously to prevent the formation of lumps.***  Return to low heat and stir constantly until mixture has thickened (if it didn’t thicken when you first stirred in the cornstarch).  Once thickened to your liking, remove from heat again and stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese.  Pour mixture over chicken and broccoli that you’ve already placed into the casserole dish.  For the topping, crush the Ritz crackers (I prefer not too crumbly) and mix with 4 tablespoons of melted butter.  Sprinkle topping over the casserole and top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, covering with foil if topping gets too brown.  Makes 8 servings, 8PPV each. 

*I’m all about saving time when making casseroles, so I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  It was perfect!  I think it added an extra layer of flavor to the dish, as well. 

**In theory, fresh broccoli would be a nice addition, but I’m all about the convenience/ease of frozen broccoli.  I used a 1 lb. bag of frozen chopped broccoli. 

***If you’re like me and use non-stick coated pans, you cringe at the thought of using a metal whisk that risks scraping up your pans.  I tried using a wooden spoon and still got lumps, so I ended up using my stick blender to get rid of the lumps/puree the sauce.