Chicken Divan recipe

Several people have asked about the recipe for the Chicken Divan I mentioned in my Hodgepodge post as one of the best things cooked and eaten in our kitchen this week.  Even though the photo I used is from Taste of Home, the recipe did not come from there.  I cobbled it together from a few different recipes, starting with one from Gooseberry Patch's Christmas Blessings cookbook.

So I will share just what I did. 

CHICKEN DIVAN CASSEROLE

 3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour (I used brown rice flour to make it gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon curry powder (according to your taste)
3 cups of instant brown rice, prepared with 3 cups water according to directions on the rice box
Salt and pepper
1 16-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli or florets, cooked
2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, sliced or cut in bite size pieces
1/2 to 3/4 cup dry stuffing mix
1/4 cup melted butter

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter.  When melted, add the flour, salt, and poultry seasoning; cook and stir until bubbly.  Remove from heat and slowly stir in the chicken broth until well blended.  Then return saucepan to heat and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is smooth and thickened.  Remove from heat; stir in the mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry powder.

Grease a glass 13x9-inch baking dish and spread the cooked brown rice over the bottom.  Salt and pepper the rice to taste.  Spread the cooked broccoli over the top of the rice, and then arrange the cooked chicken atop the broccoli.

Spread the sauce evenly over the chicken, covering all of the chicken if possible.  Combine the melted butter with the stuffing mix, mixing well, and then sprinkle the crumb topping over the sauce. 

Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly.  If preferred, you can cover with foil for the first 20 minutes and then remove the foil for the remainder of the baking time.  That's what the recipe specified, but I forgot it and baked the casserole uncovered for the whole time. 

This makes a lot and is very filling.  I will often make an entire 13x9 casserole of any type, even for just the two of us, so that we have leftovers to freeze or use another night.  We actually got three meals out of this and there is still a serving or two left over. 

It would be good with just a salad on the side, but one night I baked a couple of sweet potatoes to go with it, and that was wonderful.  So colorful, too!

Astute readers may notice that in preparing the chicken sauce (ingredients butter, flour, seasonings, and broth) one has essentially created a substitute for cream of chicken soup.  That's just what it is!  This quantity of ingredients replaces 2 cans of cream of chicken soup. 

So I'm going to go ahead and put my cream soup substitute recipe here again.  Hope it's helpful to someone, whether you've run out of canned soup or just prefer a healthier substitute.

* CREAM SOUP SUBSTITUTES

Do you hate buying canned soups for use in recipes? This recipe makes a perfect substitute for 1 can of soup.

3 Tblsp. margarine
3 Tblsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk or other liquid (as specified in variations)

Melt the margarine in heavy saucepan; blend in flour and salt and cook until bubbly. Remove from heat and gradually stir or whisk in liquid. Return to heat and cook, stirring, until smooth and thickened.

VARIATIONS:
Cream of chicken: Use 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. chicken broth as the liquid. Add 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning or sage.
Cream of celery: Saute´ 1/2 c. chopped celery and 1 T. finely chopped onion in the margarine before adding flour. Use milk for liquid.
Cream of mushroom: Saute´1/4 c. finely chopped mushrooms and 1 T. finely chopped onion in margarine before adding flour. Use milk for liquid.
Tomato: Use tomato juice as liquid. Add a dash each of garlic salt, onion salt, basil, and oregano.
Cream of shrimp: Drain the liquid from a small can of tiny shrimp into a measuring cup. Fill cup with milk to measure 1 cup of liquid. Add a dash of pepper, onion salt, curry powder, and paprika to the finished sauce, and stir in the shrimp.

This recipe came from the More-With-Less Cookbook.  The shrimp variation is mine. 

 

Have a blessed weekend, everyone!