Sunday, January 3, 2010

Chicken Brocooli Cassarole - Deconstructed

A few weeks ago (sorry!) I wasn't sure what to make for dinner. I started rummaging around the house and came upon all the ingredients for classic chicken, broccoli, cheese casserole. However, I didn't have the time to make the actual dish.
I remembered an episode of Top Chef where they made deconstructed dishes - basically having all the elements on your plate that make a classic dish.
I was a little short on broccoli so I threw in some french style green beans - and I don't think the taste was affected.
I used Campbell's Cheddar sauce for the cheese and I have to say I was disappointed. It just didn't have a good cheesy flavor. So next time, I am trying to think about what I would use for the cheese sauce - probably making my own!
But in the end - it was a good dish, filled us up, and was made from things just laying around in the fridge/freezer. This is the #1 reason I keep all kinds of veggies in the freezer! You can put together just about any dish you want.I basically cooked the chicken with salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning (Tony's!) very slowly in a skillet with the lid on it. The rice cooked in another pot, and then the cheese sauce, and then the veggies. Lots of pots. At one time, i had all 4 burners going! That was a downside to the "deconstructed" idea.

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