Comfort Food: Broccoli Chicken Cheddar Casserole

Our mother used to make this casserole for us kids growing up when her and our father ate grown up food for dinner. I still am quite fond of this dish and love to make it on rainy days. I called my mom to tell her what I was making for dinner and she definitely got nostalgic— and maybe a little jealous.















Ingredients:
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
2 cups chopped steamed broccoli
1 can cream of chicken soup (low salt)
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup low fat sour cream (for me it has to be Daisy)
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t Dijon mustard
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t sea salt
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 c panko bread crumbs
1/4 c prepared bread crumbs
1 c extra sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 baking dish. Combine all ingredients through nutmeg in a bowl. Add about a third of the cheddar and mix well. Sprinkle baking dish with some of the panko bread crumbs (this will help keep casserole from sticking and will make it look nicer when served). Add bowl mixture to the baking dish and pat down with a spatula. Top with remaining cheese, panko and bread crumbs and then sprinkle with cayenne. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crumbs have turned golden.

This recipe can be made with all the full-fat, full-salt ingredients as well (eat your heart out) I just try to be conscious of my family history of heart disease. As tradition goes, serve this with a side of full grain brown rice with soy sauce- kind of weird but delicious!