Chicken Broccoli Bake

I came across this pin on pinterest and knew I had to make it. I love myself a good casserole, and I especially liked this one because it didn't require any canned soups or other highly processed ingredients.

It all starts with some fresh broccoli, chicken and a creamy cheesy sauce, topped off with a buttery cracker and poppy seed mix. Tell me that doesn't sound delicious.

This would be a great recipe to make ahead and then pop in the oven at dinner time.

Now, you can go get the original recipe here from Get off Your Butt and Bake. I did make a few minor changes, though, so my recipe is below. But let's be honest, the credit for this delicious recipe, really belongs to Jonna from the aforementioned (ooh. big word) blog.

Chicken Broccoli Bake
{serves 4-6}

Ingredients:
3/4 lb fresh broccoli, blanched, or steamed for 2 minutes
2 large chicken breasts, cooked and diced
3 cups shredded cheese, divided (cheddar would be great, but I just used what I had on hand)
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted, divided in half
1/4 cup. cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup COLD Water
1/3 cup Chicken Broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Cups milk
50 Ritz crackers (about 1 1/3 tubes), crushed
1 tbsp poppy seeds

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 x 9 pan and layer chicken and broccoli in pan.

Combine corn starch, chicken broth, 1/3 cup of the melted butter, salt, pepper and milk in saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to cook until sauce has thickened. Reduce heat to low and stir in 1 1/2 cups of cheese until melted. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli. Top with remaining cheese.

Mix together remaining 1/3 cup melted butter, poppy seeds and crushed crackers. Sprinkle over entire mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

To reheat any leftovers, cover pan with aluminum foil and bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until warm. I would not recommend reheating in the microwave.

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