You know the rotisserie chicken Big Guy cooked while he was here and I stashed in the freezer? Well some of it morphed into a chicken/brocccoli casserole for last night's dinner.
There's a few rules I've discovered recently about cooking for one and the first is that gourmet or even psudo gourmet gives way PDQ to quick and easy and there's no doubt this casserole aka "cobbler" from myrecipes.com "ain't" gourmet but it is easy.
I cut the original recipe in half because afterall variety is the spice of life and I didn't want to be eating it for the entire week. The big pot of Witches Brew cured me of that. Oh, about spices, noting the comments from other cooks who'd tried the recipe previously, I also added spices to the mix and a little finely chopped onion too, never mind I didn't happen to have sherry in the house so substituted some of Big Guy's Woodford Reserve Bourbon instead - hey, he's not here to yell at me now is he.
The result - it's a pretty good excuse for dinner and made even better because of the crunchy bread cubes on top although as you can see mine got a little over-browned in the baking process (burnt toast is one of my very favorite things though so it was a good thing.) Would I make it again? Maybe but I'd sure have to spice it up a lot more to satisfy you know who plus I'd be inclined to change the broccoli to asparagus and maybe add some toasted almonds to the mix but then we'd have to change the name to Chicken and Asparagus Cobbler...sheesh... "Oh the tangled web we weave".
Chicken and Broccoli Cobbler from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from myrecipes.com
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 small ciabatta roll, cut into half inch cubes
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1-1/2 cups broccoli florets
1-1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1/4 cup chopped roasted red pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet onion
2/3 cup prepared Alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli light)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon bourbon (or sherry or Marsala)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic
Preheat oven to 400. Spray 2 small casserole dishes with cooking spray and place on rimmed baking sheet. Toss bread cubes with butter and parmesan cheese and set aside. In a medium bowl combine remaining ingredients and toss well to combine. Divide between casserole dishes and top with buttered bread cubes. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and bubbling. Makes 2 servings.
A year ago - Artichoke Chicken Salad
Two year's ago - Sausage Meatloaf with Lemon and Parmesan
Three year's ago - Ziti with Pancetta and Fresh Tomatoes
More comfort food...you sure are taking to the Oregon coast way of life.
Posted by: Lorraine | 05/27/2013 at 09:24 AM
Lorraine - I LOVE it here...absolutely love, love, love it.
Posted by: June | 05/27/2013 at 09:36 AM
but you have to buy another bottle before I get there. Out of your budget. :-)
Oh that last one killed you. Just kidding. LOL
Lu S
Posted by: Big guy | 05/27/2013 at 06:58 PM
Very very funny Big Guy....you really are kidding, right? Uhh right?
Posted by: June | 05/28/2013 at 07:49 AM
That is fascinating - and the liquid gold included is interesting to the southerner in me.... hmmmmm I like the idea of the nuts... oh the possibilities!
Posted by: Lea M. Callais | 05/28/2013 at 06:48 PM
June I know exactly what you mean about cooking for one, now my son is an apprentice chef I rarely see him weekends and most of the week also, so I'm cooking like you, quick and easy, and small portions. This casserole sounds great, I'm happy with the brocolli though the asparagus sounds good too, think I'll give the cubed bread a miss, maybe a crust of cheesy breadcrumbs, or even turnip/carrot mash?
Posted by: Shaun | 05/29/2013 at 02:37 AM
Lea - as you can see, you know who was singularly unimpressed by the use of his bourbon....sheesh, talk about nuts!
Shaun - I think the turnip/carrot mash sounds lovely but the breadcrumbs would work too. It really does need something crunchy in it. I had the leftover leftovers last night (microwaved) and the bread cubes were pretty awful.
Posted by: June | 05/29/2013 at 09:02 AM