Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
In my childhood, we ate lots of casseroles, probably just like everyone else in the midwest! So even though I rarely make them anymore, they are still a comfort food. One of the family favorites was chicken and broccoli casserole. Here's the recipe, directly from my mom:
It's a little different to make this in Kenya, but Anthony and I managed to come up with what we needed. I butchered one of our chickens and cooked it in the pressure cooker, which makes the meat come right off the bones and makes it much less stringy than normal... We can also get broccoli here in this cooler, high-elevation climate. The one tricky thing was the cream of chicken soup. So, we made it ourselves:
Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. dried herbs
First, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Separately, mix together the milk and flour until the flour is fully incorporated. Then, pour the milk/flour mixture into the chicken broth. Add all the other ingredients and reduce the heat, stirring until the mixture is thickened, about 5 minutes.
Once you've got that done, follow the casserole recipe - layer everything in a 9"x13" pan:
Sprinkle with cheese (not actually cheddar, but we made do with what we had):
Bake, and enjoy:
It's a little different to make this in Kenya, but Anthony and I managed to come up with what we needed. I butchered one of our chickens and cooked it in the pressure cooker, which makes the meat come right off the bones and makes it much less stringy than normal... We can also get broccoli here in this cooler, high-elevation climate. The one tricky thing was the cream of chicken soup. So, we made it ourselves:
Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. dried herbs
First, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Separately, mix together the milk and flour until the flour is fully incorporated. Then, pour the milk/flour mixture into the chicken broth. Add all the other ingredients and reduce the heat, stirring until the mixture is thickened, about 5 minutes.
Once you've got that done, follow the casserole recipe - layer everything in a 9"x13" pan:
Sprinkle with cheese (not actually cheddar, but we made do with what we had):
Bake, and enjoy:
This is great! I would never have dreamed that my daughter would butcher her own chicken to make my mother's casserole! Ha! The other funny thing is that 3 chicken breasts 30 years ago in the US were much smaller than they are now. I imagine your chickens have more normal amounts of meat. This was fun for me to read. Love, Mom
ReplyDeleteYeah, we make do with what we've got! I used around 4/5 of an entire chicken, which might be one chicken breast in the US, huh? Ha
DeleteThanks for figuring out how to make cream of chicken soup from scratch! I will have to try this sometime:)
ReplyDeleteHaha! Sara...you rock. ;) I would have given up at the 'butcher your own chicken part'. LOL.
ReplyDeleteWell, if you ever come visit us, I won't make you butcher a chicken, then :)
DeleteThe internet is helpful to all of us who enjoy cooking but huge kudos to you for pulling this off in Kenya.
ReplyDeleteCarol
Thanks Carol! It certainly helps to have the internet for cooking here too!
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