Day 15 - January 18, 2014: Charlene's Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Last night we had Chicken Broccoli - I had made it on Friday night, because the chicken also had a sell-by date of the 20th.  Here are the ingredients I used.  The recipe is actually from my Mother-in-law's friend Charlene; the only difference is that I used fresh broccoli and, at my Mother-in-law's suggestion, Panko crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs.  So, this is my, slightly adapted, recipe:

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt 2 Tbs. butter in bottom of a 13x 9 dish

Put 1lb. bag of cut-up, fresh broccoli in the bottom of dish.

Cook 4 to 5 chicken breasts (I poached them in the chicken broth), shred into pieces and layer that on top of broccoli.

Mix together 1 lg can of cream of mushroom soup

1 cup of light mayonnaise

2 Tbs. of lemon juice

Layer over top of broccoli and chicken.

In a measuring cup in microwave or on top of stove melt half stick of butter and add bread crumbs till good consistency.

Then sprinkle on top of mixture.... bake for 45 min..... that’s it..... really easy.

Broccoli crowns: $1.18 ($0.99/pound)
Chicken breasts: $4.95
Chicken broth to cover the chicken breasts during poaching: $2.29
Panko breadcrumbs: $0.99
Mayonnaise: $0.50
Cream of mushroom soup: $1.79??  I don't remember, but I can't find my receipt, so this number is totally made up, based on the fact that I got this at Aldi's and their stuff is usually much cheaper than any other store's...
2 tbsp of lemon juice: negligible
Total: $11.70

More than $10, but I knew that going in.  The fact is: This makes enough for 2 dinners, and I could have halved the recipe to be come in under budget, but with a feverish little kid all weekend, I'm glad I didn't.  Look at how much this recipe yields:

Verdict:
This is yummy, really rich and NOT low-cal.  It will definitely satisfy that craving you had for comfort food!  Twice!  At less than 6 Bucks a pop!  Can't beat it.