1. #CookingForLieutenants is back! I was scrolling through recipes (not an actual book, more like the eleventy browser tabs open on my phone), & asked my kids what they wanted for dinner. They decided on chicken divan, which is just a fancy name for a chicken & cheese casserole.
2. You’ll need:
1 # chicken breasts
3 cups of broccoli
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup grated cheddar
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup flour
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
3. Variations:
A. You can substitute a can of cream of broccoli soup instead of making roux like I am here.
B. Instead of poaching the chicken, you can just chop up the breast meat of a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
3c. This thread, like all my others, is for busy folks who want to feed themselves, their SO’s, and/or their kids a tasty meal without breaking the bank or working too hard, so if you do take one of t upcoming shortcuts, not to worry. #JudgmentFreeZone
4. Par-cook (pre-cook in plain English) broccoli florets in heavily salted boiling water until it just begins to soften. Set aside until later. The salt helps the broccoli retain its color & flavor. Removing it when it’s still crunchy doesn’t kill the vitamin A, B, C, & E.
4a. I cut my broccoli into spoon sized pieces, & also cut up the stalks after removing the thick outer skin. This is what mine looked like after par-cooking.
5. Make a blonde roux by melting the butter, adding all-purpose flour, then whisking over low heat until the color looks like a brown haired girl’s hair in the height of summer. So, essentially, Farha Fawcett, not Marilyn Monroe.
6. While you’re whisking roux, chicken breasts can poach in a salted mix of simmering water & chicken stock. Remove the chicken, set it aside, & save the poaching liquid.
6a. I swear, as often as I mention Kirkland brand chicken stock on these threads, Costco should throw me a bone. But I honestly do swear by this product, because who’s got 6 hours to make stock?
7. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Chop up your chicken breasts. Go back to whisking your roux, it’s probably bubbling & just starting to change color now. You want yellow/brown sludge.
8. Add the white wine & about 1 cup of the poaching liquid. Whisk thoroughly, you don’t want any stray bits of uncooked flour. Now add the milk. Bring this to a boil, season with S & P, then simmer on low.
9. Add a layer of broccoli to the baking pan, then a layer of chicken. Cover with the roux sauce, then grated cheddar. Top with a layer breadcrumbs & grated Parmesan.
10. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes, or until the top has turned a golden brown.
11. Serve with Pillsbury biscuits from a can, because that’s also what the kids wanted, & it saved me the effort of making garlic bread.
12. Make sure that the toughest food critics in NY (sorry @SamSifton) approve.
13. Reward yourself with an adult beverage for warding off juvenile starvation again.
14. Here endeth the lesson. Be excellent to each other. #CookingForLieutenants is dismissed.
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