I had some extra chicken this week and was craving something with broccoli and rice, so I went to Google and found a healthy casserole to make.  This is great for the leftover rotisserie chicken we all seem to have..

Skinny Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 cups long grain brown rice
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1lb chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 5 teaspoons flour
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup fat free sour cream
• 8oz shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large pot then add brown rice. Cover, turn heat down to low & cook for 45-50 minutes. When rice has about 5 minutes left to cook add broccoli and green onions on top to steam.
2. If you don’t have leftover cooked chicken, time to cook your chicken.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and sauté until cooked. Remove and cube chicken, then clean out pan.
3. Turn heat down to medium and whisk together flour and 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl. Pour mixture into pan add remaining 1 1/2 cups milk. Cook milk mixture, stirring constantly until thickened, ~ 5-7 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add 6oz of the shredded cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and stir until smooth.
4. Preheat broiler. Combine chicken with cooked rice and broccoli mixture and mix in cheese sauce.  Scoop mixture into a greased 9×13 baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Broil until cheese is melted (doesn’t take that long so watch it).  Let casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Edits:  I had leftover Publix rotisserie chicken, so I just used that instead of cooking my own.  I also threw some Old Bay and oregano in the cheesy mixture for good measure — I can’t get enough of Old Bay.

Results: Awesome!  Although I’m sure the casserole isn’t considered “skinny” when you go back for seconds and are stuffed, I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to eat the leftovers.  The hardest part was constantly stirring the milk / flour and getting it to the right consistency.

Update: I made this again recently, but with a few changes –> Still leftover Publix rotisserie chicken, but no green onions (I was out), Mexican cheese instead of cheddar, and more seasoning in the cheese sauce (red pepper flakes, Old Bay, Italian seasoning + normal ingredients).  It still turned out great and possibly a little more tasty!