It’s Monday, and I wasn’t in the mood to do a lot cooking. I dug up this recipe and customized it to what I had in the refrigerator. It came out very tasty. I love casseroles; hot dishes to you folks in Minnesota. The problem with most casseroles for bariatric patients is that they usually have pasta, noodles or rice as a main ingredient. I liked this recipe because it was pasta-less and rice-less. I named it Low-Low since it’s low in fat and carbs.
Rotisserie chickens are such a time saver. For less than $5 at a Sam’s Club, you can have delicious slow roasted chicken for your family for 2-3 meals. I had some broccoli, Hungarian wax peppers and onions on hand. I like to sauté my peppers and onions to deepen their taste and soften them. Another key to this recipe is the use of fat-free cream soup. It adds taste without the fat. The same applies to reduced fat cheese.
Low-Low Chicken and Broccoli Bake
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 10.75 can of 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
1 tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp ground mustard
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 lb bunch of broccoli florets
1 green or red pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups diced rotisserie chicken
1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices of whole wheat bread
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8” x 8” inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Whisk the fat-free mayonnaise, lemon juice, cream of chicken soup, poultry seasoning, ground mustard and black pepper until smooth.
Lightly spray a medium skillet with cooking spray. Sauté onions and peppers until limp but not browned.
Place the broccoli, chicken, peppers and onions in a large mixing bowl. Toss to mix. Pour in mayonnaise mixture and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese. Mix thoroughly. Transfer to the 8” X 8” prepared baking dish.
In a food processor, process the bread slices with a metal blade to make soft crumbs. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
Top casserole with bread crumb mixture and bake for 50-60 minutes until top is browned and broccoli is tender.