I’m a big fan of making casserole-type dishes on Sunday night because they are easy to reheat and eat throughout the week (not to mention I think they reheat really well!). Even though I’ve had a fairly quiet start to my week (I seriously don’t know what to do with myself when I don’t have plans after work and am resting from the gym!), I was so tired on Sunday night and just wanted a warm, one-dish meal.

Preparing this meal was certainly not a one dish event- in fact, the meal took a bit longer than I anticipated, but I had a nice bottle of J. Lohr wine that kept me company 😉

I know I say this all the time, but my mom makes the best Chicken Divan, so I consulted with her on what I needed to make the dish. I also checked out a few recipes and ended up combining notes from my mom and bits and pieces from both recipes to come up with my meal… whoops 🙂

Chicken Divan- adapted from Skinny Taste and My Recipes (linked there from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

• 1lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I chose chicken thighs since they are way more flavorful than chicken breast, especially in a casserole dish)
• about 8 oz. frozen broccoli (enough to cover the bottom of a small casserole dish)
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1tbsp minced garlic
• 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine (I used Chardonnay)
• 1/2 can of reduced fat cream of celery soup
• 1tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Preheat a skillet and cook the chicken thighs for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until mostly cooked. Sprinkle salt & pepper on both sides.

2. Place a layer of the frozen broccoli on the bottom of your casserole dish and put the chicken thighs on top. You can leave them whole or cut them up!

3. Chop your onion. Heat up 1 tbsp. of butter in a skillet, add in the onions and minced garlic. Sautee until onions are translucent. Add in the chicken broth, wine, milk, and cream of celery soup. Stir everything together and bring to a boil and let boil for about 3-5 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Add in the cheeses and stir until they have melted.

4. Pour the mixture over the chicken and broccoli, coat the top with bread crumbs and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges are bubbling.

5. Serve yourself a nice heaping bowl of it and enjoy!

This is certainly not the prettiest meal to photograph, but don’t let that fool you- it was delicious! I find myself eating it by the spoonful as I am heating my serving for dinner… anyone else do that? This meal has been wonderful to quickly reheat after work and the gym all week. I might have to freeze some later this week since I still have lots left over.

Questions for you: Do you combine multiple recipes when you’re making a meal? Do you snack on crackers/chips/anything while you’re heating your dinner? Do you like to freeze meals to eat later on?