An Oldie But A Goodie!

I had this entire blog typed, pictures arranged, and ready to publish when I DELETED IT ALL!😡

Welcome to the new blog! The offspring told me the old blog page was “so 2010”. Well, we can’t have that, can we? Now here we are in 2016 and ready to cook!

I realized as I typed out this blog, TWICE, that I have no clue how long my recipe’s prep time is. This will never be a blog that adds prep times. This will also never be a blog to have over five ingredients per recipe. Dear Lord. People, calm down with your ingredients. I judge my likeliness to make a recipe based on how many ingredients it calls for. Sure I might pin it, or share it on Facebook, but the reality is that if the recipe calls for over five ingredients then I won’t be making it. I cook because the law says I must feed my offspring. I do enjoy cooking. It just scares me. I really don’t want to be the reason that someone gets diarrhea. And on that note….

Let’s begin!

Ingredients:

1 pound of Chicken
1 10.5oz can of Cream of Celery soup
1 10.5oz can of Cream of Chicken soup
1 box (I didn’t write down the size.) of chicken flavored Rice-A-Roni style rice
1 package (Again I didn’t write down the size.) of frozen broccoli
2 8oz blocks of Sharp Cheddar

That’s it!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

Start by cooking the rice mix as instructed on the box.

For this recipe I used the Walmart brand of rice mix. I have also used the name brand of Rice-a-Roni and the Aldi’s brand.

That is all the prep work, before assembling the casserole, that needs to be done.

Now begin to assemble your casserole!

Spray a 9×13 glass cooking dish with cooking spray. I don’t know what kind of cooking spray I use. I honestly don’t even know what the difference is between all those cooking sprays. I just don’t want my food to stick. I usually buy the Aldi’s brand or whatever is on sale for the cheapest at the time of purchase.

The first layer of the casserole is the rice. Becareful because it will be hot.

Notice how my 9×13 is blue:) I try to buy the baking dishes that aren’t the usual clear glass so that if someone in the family stole them then I would know who it was and throw a fit until I got it back. I am the youngest and have mastered the throwing of fits. I used to have two of these blue glass baking dishes and now I only have one:( My guess is that someone in my family stole it and I don’t know who so clearly my plan failed.

The next layer is the chicken. Before my mother told me I was doing it wrong, I was cooking my chicken before the casserole went into the oven. That explains why my chicken was always so dry. So don’t do that.

The next layer is your broccoli. I am not sure what size bag I buy. I just use enough broccoli to cover the entire casserole. I love the broccoli and soup, which are added next, combination.

Now in a separate bowl mix your soups together. This is a layer that can be adjusted to whatever your family likes and dislikes. You can use all Cream of Chicken soup or all Cream of Celery soup. You can even be “that cook” and make your own cream of whatever soup. I wouldn’t recommend using Cream of Mushroom soup but that is just my opinion. The amount can also be adjusted. I like my casserole very soupy, therefore, I use two 10.5oz cans of soup. You can use half of each can or just one can. I would guess that the less soup you use the drier your casserole will be. Play with the amounts and figure out what you like.

After you mix the soups together you add them over the broccoli.

The last layer is the cheese. Again this is an area you can adjust and use what you like and the amount you like. I use either sharp cheddar cheese or mild cheddar cheese. I personally would stick with those. But if you know more about cheeses or cooking then add whatever kind you think would go well here. It’s cheese. Can you go wrong?

Also, I use two entire 8oz blocks of cheese. Even though I think it would be a crime against humanity, you can add less if you desire. And for the love of gooey cheese, please grate your own cheese! The quality is so much better. It melts all ooey and yummy. Is ooey a word?

Add yo’ cheese!

Place your completed casserole in your oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. You want the chicken cooked through and for everything to be melted into a cheesy cloud.

I was starving by the time this finished cooking and forgot to take a picture of it on my plate. Instead you get this photo of the final cheesy masterpiece. Enjoy!