Lemon is one of my favorite flavors to pair with chicken. This recipe also includes curry sending this to the the top of my comfort food list. This is one of the dinners that I make in a pinch. The recipe's in my head and I know everyone will eat it, without complaint. Double bonus! It's also easy to make in the morning or even the day before and pop in the oven for dinner, it only takes 30 minutes to bake. The general idea of this recipe is not my own. The first time I had this dish was at a boyfriends house. (That was a whole lifetime ago) He was pretty much a drop dead cute boyfriend, so cute in fact I still get that heart stabbing loss of breath feeling when I think about peering over my plate of Chicken Divan at him while eating at his parents house. Or maybe it wasn't that he was so cute, but that I over ate and I couldn't breath. He was pretty dang cute though, it was probably a combination. Thankfully I married a man that is even cuter so I get to have that feeling everyday even when I'm not stuffed. OK enough about old Bo's lets get down to dinner.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
You will need cut up two small heads of broccoli and blanch them. Approximately 4 cups.
Truth be told not all of my kids are crazy about broccoli, but I'm a meany and I make them eat a bite or two. But if you or your kids are really apposed to broccoli, green beans work well in this casserole too.
To blanch vegetables you want to fill a pan 2/3 full of water, salt, and bring to a full boil, drop in your vegi's and let cook for 2 minutes. Remove immediately.
Drain in a colander and run cold water over vegetables to stop the cooking process. For this recipe once the broccoli has fully drained, you can spread it out in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
Cut 2 chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.
Saute' the chicken pieces in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, season with Morton's Natures Seasonings to taste, or salt and pepper works fine too.
When chicken pieces are fully cooked, or no longer pink, transfer them to the baking dish layering them on top of the broccoli. Set the skillet aside we will come back to it for making the sauce.
If you have a 8 oz. can of sliced water chestnuts drain them and layer over chicken. I was out of them this day...phooey! My kids love them, and noticed right away...of course. They call water chestnuts crunchies.....
What! No crunchies?!
Set your baking dish aside for now, because it's time to make the sauce.
Hold on to your arteries, this sauce has full artery cloggin potential.
I am all about pan dirtying conservation techniques, so use the pan you sauteed the chicken in to make the sauce. Melt one stick of butter in pan over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup of flour to the melted butter whisk continually until a paste has formed and the flour is lightly colored 2-3 minutes. Gradually add 1 cup of milk, continuously whisking. After you have the milk incorporated and your sauce is smooth and thick add 1 1/3 cups chicken broth whisking the entire time. You want a smooth sauce, cook over low heat, stirring about 5 minutes. If sauce seems too thick add a little more broth and whisk. Sauce should be just thick enough to cling to the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon Morton's Nature's Seasonings.
Then whisk in 1 cup of Hellman's mayonnaise and the juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed. (or 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice)
Now for the zinger! Curry powder. Oh how I love curry. I use a mild curry powder blend for this recipe, you can use any blend of curry powder you prefer. Whisk in 3 teaspoons or 4 if you're feeling frisky!
Now pour the sauce over the ingredients in your baking dish, sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups Frenches Onions. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the onions are browned and the casserole is bubbly.
Serve Chicken Divan over white rice, with a crusty loaf of bread and a salad.
Chicken Divan
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 small heads of broccoli blanched (approx. 4 cups)
1 8oz. can sliced water chestnuts drained
1 stick of butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Morton's Natures Seasonings salt
1/4 cup fresh squeezed or bottled lemon juice
1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
3 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 can or 1 1/2 cups Frenches Onions
preheat oven to 375 degrees
MMMMmmmm this smells so good. This is one of Kenny's favorite dinners, he will even eat the leftovers and he is not usually a fan of leftovers. I hope you give it a try and LOVE it as much as we do.
Do you have any recipes from old boy friends mothers you make your family...or am I the only goof ball? I had boyfriend in High School that his mom couldn't cook to save her life. Oh my goodness I almost forgot about this women. Sorry....now I'm reminiscing. I was almost done but now I have to share a poem I wrote about her. Here goes.
Boyfriends Mom
I once had a boyfriend.
His mom was unique.
She cooked like a freak.
He had me over for dinner to meet the fam.
She served us toast and Spam.
The end.
Good Times!
