New Recipe: Chicken, Broccoli & Potato Divan

Finally a new recipe! I haven't had much time to recipe hunt so last night I went with yet another recipe using the Philadelphia Cooking Creme. Man I love that stuff! I'm trying to broaden my horizons in the dinner department...hence the reason for trying at least two new recipes each month. This one isn't too far outside the box for me...but at least it has a vegetable in it. I'm trying to work on that too. I feel like I can say this because I didn't invent the recipe: YUM! This was delicious. And so easy. None of the ingredients had to be cooked before going into the casserole pan which makes it perfect for a weeknight dinner. The recipe can be found HERE.



Ingredients!



Marinate the chicken



Mix the cooking creme and milk



Add the potatoes, broccoli, and some of the cheese to the mixture

 

Spoon it into a 9 x 13 casserole dish coated with non-stick spray



Put the marinated chicken on top (throw away the marinate)



Cover and bake!

 

Garnish with cheese at 45 minutes and return to oven (uncovered)



Mmmm...who's ready for dinner?

Notes/Suggestions:

• I used 1.5 lbs. of chicken tenders instead of the 1 lb of chicken breasts called for in the recipe. I feel like I eat a smaller portion when the pieces of chicken are smaller and there also seems to be more left overs (lunch - yum!). The thin sliced chicken breasts work well also if you're trying to control your portion size.
• I only marinated the chicken for 20 minutes because I was impatient and starving. I just couldn't wait another 10 minutes. I thought the chicken tasted great and was very tender but hopefully next time I can wait the full 30 minutes.
• I microwaved the broccoli for a few minutes (since it was the steam fresh kind) because I'm not into super crunchy broccoli. I also gave it a quick chop before adding it to the potatoes so it would be more bite sized. You don't have to, but I liked it.
• I couldn't find the specific cheese called for in the recipe so I just used a store brand cheddar cheese. I don't think it made a difference in the taste (and it was cheaper).
• This smelled amazing while it was cooking and I will totally make it again! (Plus it reheated well today for lunch!)

I hope if anyone decides to make this that you enjoy it! You can check out the other recipes I've made using the Philly Cooking Creme HERE and HERE.

New Recipe: Lemon-Broccoli Rice with Chicken

Since announcing that one of my goals this year is to make at least two new recipes every month I have been in search new recipes. I have a cookbook addiction so I've been looking through those and I've come across a few but nothing that got me too excited. What I really need are easy weeknight friendly meals. And I found one!

I'm a sucker for those signs at the grocery store that scream "NEW ITEM!" especially when it's in the cream cheese section. Those lovely people at Philadelphia that have stolen my heart already (who can't eat cream cheese with spoon?) have come out with cooking creme. Can I just say: What took so long?? Because they were a new item they were on sale AND attached to the lid are - you guessed it - recipes! I decided to buy two flavors so I'll post about the next recipe I make too.

Monday I decided to make Lemon-Broccoli Rice with Chicken (recipe can be found HERE). It looked easy and it also looked like I wouldn't hate myself when I got done eating it. And it was both! Start to finish it took 30-40 minutes and I had a good sized portion and was full but I didn't feel gross. I was uncertain about the combination of the garlic and lemon but I didn't really taste the garlic and I thought the recipe was delicious! Husband didn't go crazy over it, he said it was "missing something". He thinks it needed some crunch.


Small ingredient list, I love that



Cooking the chicken and garlic



Mmmm...almost done!

 

I have been fun of for my use of boil-in-bag rice but I stand by my choice! I love boil-in-bag rice and not only do I not have room in my kitchen for yet another gadget, but I have no desire for a rice cooker while this stuff is still on the market.




Finished product!

As I said, Husband was not wild about this dish but he did eat it. I had thought it would be more up his alley than mine but I guess it's the other way around. I will definitely make this again and I look forward to making another of the cooking creme recipes.

Notes/Suggestions:

• The recipe calls for oil which I didn't realize I was missing. So I used a tablespoon of margarine in it's place and I thought it worked out fine.
• The recipe calls for 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips. I used a pound of the thinly sliced chicken breasts and I thought the size was perfect!
• My lemon was on the smaller size and didn't produce enough zest (I got about 1 1/2 teaspoons instead of the 2 teaspoons). I squeezed a little bit of the lemon into the sauce to make up for it but I don't think I needed it. 
• If you're a brown rice person (I am not) then you could definitely substitute that in place of the white rice that is called for.
• I usually tweak recipes when I make them but I am trying hard to make them as the recipe says to at least the first time. This one, when I make it again, I will make exactly the same way (unless husband can come up with his "something crunchy" that it needs).