Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I am really impressed with this recipe, not gonna lie. I told you all that I was going to keep eating things I love- in this case, chicken, gravy and cheese; and that I would just be incorporating more veggies- insert mushrooms and broccoli. I reeeeally love mushrooms and Jon reeeeally does not. I don't hate broccoli but it is definitely not my first choice.

I had leftover rotisserie chicken I wanted to use up and a Costco sized bag of broccoli. My mom also got me a rice cooker for a housewarming gift last year and I was excited to use the steamer for the broccoli. It is the easiest thing ever. Thank you Black and Decker for taking the excuse that it's too much work to steam veggies out of my life.

I researched chicken broccoli casseroles online and was really disappointed that, as usual, everyone calls for cream of _____ soup. Most of the cream soups have MSG and I don't understand how they can label a recipe "from scratch" when they're using processed foods? I completely understand the added benefit of saved time so when you make this, feel free to substitute my gravy for cream o (insert your preference here) soup. I always have homemade gravy from when I get those rotisserie chickens so it was just as simple for me to use that.

This was relatively simple to throw together, probably took me 20 minutes to prep and the total cook time including steaming the broccoli was no more than 30-35 minutes. It also tasted amaaaazing, which, let's be honest, is the most important part. Jon ate his entire plate and as I mentioned, he finds no ally in mushrooms or broccoli. I know this would be super delish served over rice or egg noodles, but we are keeping our carb intake during the day, so we ate it alone and I honestly didn't miss any starches.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

1 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups mushroom, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Lawry's season salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup gravy
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup 2% milk
2 cup broccoli, steamed and chopped
3 cup chicken, cooked and chopped
1 cup part skim shredded mozzarella, reserve some for topping
2 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray casserole dish with cooking spray. In a medium skillet, cook sautée garlic and mushrooms in butter. After mushrooms have softened and Browne a little, season with season salt and pepper. Whisk in gravy, chicken stock and milk. Reduce heat and allow to thicken.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine broccoli, chicken and mozzarella. (Remember to reserve some mozzarella to sprinkle on top)

Once gravy mix has thickened, combine with chicken mixture. Pour into casserole dish. Top with extra mozzarella, Panko and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes to heat through.