As you might guess, I subscribe to several food blogs and websites. I get inspiration daily for recipe ideas. I thoroughly enjoy trying new dishes, but oftentimes, the new ideas prompt me to revise my old favorite recipes to make them lighter and healthier. There are certainly times that I just like the old fashioned recipe – one that uses a can of campbell’s condensed soup for ease of the process and because it tastes good. We try to strike a balance with fat, processed foods, carbohydrates or sugars. Most weeks we have 2 to 3 dinners that are meatless – and we used to have pasta a few times per week and now it is often one time or less. I now purchase a wider variety of pastas including gluten free, higher protein, and vegetable based.
A recent trend is spiralizing vegetables in place of pasta. I love this idea as it often adds a different level of texture to a dish. Instead of completely replacing pasta with spiralized zucchini, I will reduce the amount of pasta and make a noodle that would be similar in thickness to the spirlized zucchini and serve them both. You still get the nice chew of regular pasta and the health benefits of the zucchini with much less starch.
The same process can be used for rice – another favorite starch at our house. I substitute all or part of the rice I would cook and serve with quinoa or another grain that is higher in protein and has less starch. It does not have the same texture and bite – but the nutty hints and unique texture are easily blended into many recipes. Cauliflower is also easily “riced” or chopped up to substitute for the starch. I am slowly integrating riced cauliflower into dishes by using part rice and part cauliflower.
quinoa, rinsed and just beginning to cook.
A family weeknight favorite dish is Chicken Divan. It is a delictable layered casserole of chicken, broccoli, cheese with a smooth, silky sauce. It often has a base layer of white rice. I planned to make it and had all of the ingredients. I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that touted the benefits of substituting quinoa for rice in a very similar dish. You can find the recipe with a search on WSJ Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole with Chicken and Cheddar (print date was 4/30-5/1, 2016). I will give you my original, very easy recipe and an adaptatation that is something between the WSJ recipe and the original which can be found on several websites and old recipe books.
The substitution of quinoa for rice is a good start. The other substitutions are to use less mayonaise than the recipe calls for ( I now use only Hellman’s mayonaise made with olive oil which is somewhat better than the original stuff) and use less condensed soup…I make a sauce with chicken stock and a roux that I add to one can of the condensed soup.
pan juices, chicken bones and skin with water added can be boiled down to make a quick chicken stock that adds lots of flavor to the sauce.
I believe starting with bone in chicken breasts that are baked gives the most tender and tasty chicken for this casserole. It takes a little more time but allows you to make a chicken stock that can be used for the sauce by cooking the bones down for a short time after the chicken bakes. You can cook boneless chicken breasts or purchase cooked, cubed chicken in the freezer section of your grocery store.
roasted chicken breasts ready to pull apart for the casserole.
The same holds true for the broccoli. I prefer using fresh broccoli that is blanched, cooled and drained. If you are pinched for time or you want the convenience, frozen broccoli florets can easily be used instead of fresh. Just defrost and drain so the broccoli isn’t mushy and wet.
blanching broccoli quickly in boiling water
blanched, quickly cooled in an ice bath and drained broccoli ready to put into the casserole
The original sauce recipe takes just a minute to whip up. The lighter, healthier version just adds about 30 minutes of time but gets good use out of ingredients you would otherwise throw away and has a rich flavor.
homemade chicken gravy, mayo, condensed soup with seasonings and just a little milk make for a delicious sauce.
The work involves pre-cooking the chicken, broccoli and making the sauce. It does involve using a number of pots and pans for the preparation – but because it can all be done ahead, you can clean up the mess well in advance of a meal. I regularly make more than one casserole – so the mess is worth getting several meals prepared ahead of time! The finished dish freezes well and is easily baked from a frozen state.
quinoa with broccoli layered into casserole
chicken, sauce and cheese layers added to finish
Chicken Divan
Serves 6 heartily.
Prep time about 45 minutes.
Bake time 30-45 minutes.
Ingredients
2 to 3 bone-in chicken breasts with skin (or 6 cups of cooked, cubed/shredded chicken breast)
2 heads of broccoli, stems removed (save for another use) broken into small florets (2 packages frozen, defrosted broccoli can be substituted)
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup milk, water or white wine
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp curry powder (your favorite one – or you can omit this – I often add an additiona 1/2 tsp turmeric too)
salt and pepper to taste
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese for topping
2 cups cooked white rice (optional as a base layer) – or 2 cups cooked quinoa
alternate sauce ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil or butter
1 small to medium onion diced
1 1/2 Tbs flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup olive oil mayonaise
1 tsp curry powder
1 Tbs lemon juice (about 1/2 small lemon juiced)
salt and pepper to taste
possibly additional milk, water or white wine to adjust consistency
Instructions
Place chicken breasts onto foil lined baking sheet and generously season with salt and pepper. Bake at 375′ for about 45 minutes until meat thermometer registers 165′. Time will vary based on thickness of chicken. Once baked, allow to cool for about 20 minutes so you can break apart into shreds or cut into cubes. If you want to make the healthier but more labor intensive version of the recipe, pour any baking juices from the pan into a small saucepan with chicken bones, skin, and about 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a low boil for about 30 minutes. Strain broth into a small bowl or measuring cup and dispose of chicken bones. You should have about 1 cup of stock. Otherwise, dispose of chicken bones and skin.
While the chicken is cooking bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add broccoli florets. Cook for just about 2 minutes. Immediately strain then add broccoli to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and help the broccoli retain its bright green color. Strain again. and set aside.
For the original sauce, mix the chicken soup, mayonaise, milk, water or white wine, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper together into a bowl. The mixture should be fairly thick but pourable.
If you are making the revised version. Use the small saucepan to heat up 2 Tbs olive oil. Add diced onion and cook over medium-low heat until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir for at least one minute so flour is cooked. Add chicken broth and stir to create a gravy consistency sauce. Add this mixture to one can of condensed soup, 1/2 cup mayonaise, curry powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir to combine into a creamy sauce. If the sauce is too thick add a bit of milk, water or white wine to reach desired consistency.
To assemble the casserole, oil or spray 9 x 13 pan. Begin with rice or quinoa as the bottom layer. Top with chicken and broccoli. Pour sauce evenly over the entire casserole. Last, sprinkle shredded cheese over all.
Bake at 350′ for about 45 minutes. If all ingredients are room temperature or warm, the casserole may be heated through after 30-35 minutes.
Notes
Cassserole can be assembled, covered and refrigerated overnight. Baking time may be longer if the casserole is cold when placed into the oven.
The casserole can also be frozen. I suggest baking the frozen casserole, covered with foil at 325 for about 45 minutes, then another 20 minutes uncovered at 350. Since everything is pre-cooked it just has to be heated through.
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