Chicken & Broccoli Casserole - 2 Thumbs Up!

If you don't know by now, I have an aversion to fat-free products. Its an issue of taste and a doubt of quality but we won't go there again! (I promise).

This recipe is from my new Cooking Light cookbook. It required a lot of fat-free stuff that I "ignored". I'll list the actual recipe as it was intended and let you know in ( ) where I ignored, or had to alter it cuz I didn't have it. Also...this recipe serves 8 so I halved it. I didn't want leftovers just in case it was a total bomb. I'm happy to say that it wasn't. I like the flavor, and I like how easy it was

12 oz broccoli florets (I used 1/2 broccoli and 1/2 zucchini)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 - 12 oz can of evaporated fat-free milk

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Dash of Nutmeg

1 cup fat-free mayonnaise (I used regular)

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream (again...I used regular)

1/4 cup dry sherry (didn't have any sherry so I had to use chicken broth)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I'm so excited!! I found one that doesn't contain anchovies!! WOO HOO)

1 can condensed 30% reduced-sodium, 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup (I swear...I would have used this but I had a can in the cupboard already and it wasn't the healthy version)

1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided in half

Preheat your oven to 400'

The recipe wanted me to boil the broccoli. eeeeeeh....not into boiling them unless they're frozen. Hmmm...maybe the recipe thought I was going to use frozen broccoli. Well, I didn't and therefore chose to steam my veggies until they were crisp tender.....

Boil the chicken for about 15 - 30 minutes, or until done. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Once cool...cut into bite sized pieces. Oooor you can cut to the chase and just use 6 oz of cooked chicken! LOL

While all that is cooking....in a sauce pan, combine the evaporated milk, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg....

Ya...not so pretty....but you just wait!

Stir with a whisker until smooth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, over medium - high heat. Cook and stir for a minute. Remove from heat.

Add the mayo, sour cream, sherry, Worcestershire sauce, soup and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese...

I know, I know...its looking worse. Just stir until well combined and look...its getting better already Go ahead...taste it. Its really good.

Combine the chicken, broccoli and sauce...pour into a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish that has been coated with cooking spray.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top....

Bake at 400' for 50 minutes or until its all bubbly and brown around the edges and the cheese begins to get all nice and brown....(if you do like I did and cut the recipe in half, the cooking time is for about 30 - 35 minutes instead)

Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.

Now...if you made this the "right" way, this is how it would look in numbers:

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Size: 1 cup

Calories 276 (25% from fat) <----ya, that went way up with my version LOL

Fat 7.8 g (sat 3.5g, mono 1.8 g, poly 1.1g)

Protein 31.1g

Carb. 18.9g

Fiber 2.1g

Chol. 66mg

Iron 1.6g

Sodium 696mg (would be interesting to compare that number with my version)

Calc 365mg

Now...wanna play a little game? hee hee. I made a tiny screw up. In the top picture where I have all the ingredients sitting out...I forgot to include 1 thing....do you know what was it? This is just for fun. I wish I had something I could send as a little prize but I don't....sorry.