My mom used to make this dish for us kids but I never did obtain the recipe so,
through trial and error, I adapted it to my Mac & Cheese #1 dish and came up with this wonderful concoction.
It uses chicken broth so, we're going to make our own instead of that nasty salty chemically induced store bought stuff so, here we go with #5...
Chicken Broccoli Casserole with Cheese
INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 cups medium shells (I use Barilla but Ronco will work)
3 cups Kraft Mild Cheddar Finely Shredded Cheese, separated
1-1/2 large precooked skinless boneless chicken breasts or 3 cups any chicken, chopped
2 cups precooked broccoli tops, (florets)
1/2 cup chicken broth, (home made, see below) or plain ol' water
Rue:
1 12oz. can Evaporated Milk
4 teaspoons Corn Starch
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons Sweet Cream Butter
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot cook the shells for 10 minutes. Rinse, drain, and set aside to cool.
(You're going to use this same pot to mix everything together in or a large bowl.)
2. Cook the broccoli while cooking the shells. (I steam mine.)
3. The precooked chicken and chicken broth:
I use a baking dish and bake mine in
2 cups water seasoned with some garlic salt, pepper, and
onion powder to taste for about 45 mins. or so at 400 degrees.
(This creates a wonderful 'chicken broth' for soups and such and
use in this recipe.) When done, chop the chicken into bite sized
pieces and set aside. Also, strain the broth and flavor to taste
while it's still hot from the oven. Careful, don't burn your tongue, though!
(Boiling the chicken in a pot will do the same thing as baking it, btw.)
4. The Rue:
In a medium sauce pan, add all rue ingredients than cook on medium low heat whisking constantly until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside to cool some.
5. Now, let's put it together:
Add about 3/4's of the cheese to the shells and mix well.
Add the chicken and mix that well.
Add the broccoli and mix that in well.
Stir in the rue and the 1/2 cup broth until all is mixed in well. It should be thick and creamy.
6. Using a spatula, pour and scrape everything into a 2 qt casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven to cool some, than, enjoy!