French Chicken Broccoli Supreme

Tonight I decided to try making something different for Sunday night dinner.  My oldest son came to have dinner with us.  There was a recipe that I had found and saved on Pinterest a couple of months ago that looked good and knew that I wanted to try some day.  So tonight, I decided to give it a whirl. I made French Chicken Broccoli Supreme, a simple casserole with chicken and broccoli as the base and a creamy cheddar cheese sauce that you make yourself (in other words, no canned soup).  It is topped with buttered crushed Ritz crackers and poppy seeds.  We thought it was good and I would definitely make it again, but with some alterations -- namely adding a little more flavor to the sauce.  With a little more flavor I think you could easily knock it up a notch from good to great.  I did reduce some of the butter in the cracker crumb topping by a few tablespoons, but other than that I followed the recipe without adding anything to it (which is a rarity for me).  Next time I make it, I will do a bit of tweaking to give the sauce a bit more flavor -- I'll probably add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to the sauce as well as a little bit of curry powder to give it a little more zing.  I really like the fresh taste of lemon when used in chicken and broccoli casseroles.  This recipe would be an excellent way to use up any leftover chicken or turkey, too.  I served it on a bed of rice.  For dessert, I tried a new recipe for brownies that are made using grated zucchini.  The zucchini is used to add moistness, which it does.  I will post the recipe for the brownies tomorrow.  Below find a few pics of the French Chicken Broccoli Supreme, along with the recipe.  Enjoy!

Fresh out of the oven

Here, take a closer look...

Voila!

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

FRENCH CHICKEN BROCCOLI SUPREME

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh broccoli florets, steamed approximately 5 minutes.
3 cups cooked chicken breasts, diced
1-1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Crumb Topping:

2 tubes of Ritz Crackers, crushed
1 stick butter, melted (I used 5 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Sauce:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup COLD water
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups additional sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

In greased 13×9 pan, layer the broccoli, then the chicken; set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the melted butter, cornstarch dissolved in water, chicken broth, salt, pepper and milk. Stir well; continue stirring frequently until sauce has thickened (when it looks like it will begin to bubble a little and is thick, it is done).  Reduce heat to low, and add 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, stirring until melted.  Pour over the chicken and broccoli.  Top with additional 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.

In a medium non-stick skillet, melt the butter, add poppy seeds, and stir well; remove from heat.  Add crushed Ritz Crackers to the melted butter/poppy seed mixture (you can crush Ritz crackers in a large Ziploc bag with a rolling pin, being careful not to crush too fine -- you don't want powder).  Sprinkle crumbs over the top of the shredded cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.  Serve over rice or noodles, if desired.