Easy Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole! I’ve just discovered an entirely new world of cooking. I confess: when I saw the various “pins” on freezer meals over the last six months, I might have- once or twice- rolled my eyes.

But then I was trying a new recipe that also had freezer instructions. So I went ahead, doubled the batch, cooked half, and froze half. A couple of weeks later I thawed it out, tossed cheese on it, and had dinner done with less than 3 minutes effort.

I’m converted. If you have a great freezer meal, please comment letting me know! I’m always looking for new ones.

As I said above, this recipe is great because you can either bake it immediately and serve –or- freeze it for later.

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

• 5 C. cooked white rice
• 4 C. cooked chicken, shredded
• 2 C. broccoli, chopped (frozen)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of broccoli soup
• 4 C. shredded cheddar, divided
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Boil frozen broccoli in approx. 2 cups water for 3 minutes. Remove broccoli, reserving water.
2. Combine rice, chicken, broccoli, soups, 3 cups of cheddar, salt, and pepper. Add 1 cup of reserved broccoli water if needed to moisten (I always need it).
3. Grease a 9” x 13” casserole dish. Cook for 20 minutes, uncovered, at 350°. Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese over casserole. Cook additional 5-10 minutes.
4. ~ For a freezer meal, do steps 1 & 2. Divide into two large Ziploc freezer bags. (Optional: Tape 1 C. shredded cheddar in a snack bag to the main bag.) Freeze flat. To serve: thaw out overnight in the fridge. Cook as normal. [Use 1 bag for a small casserole or 2 for 9” x 13”.]

A couple of quick tips to make life easier:

• A KitchenAid stand mixer shreds chicken in under a minute. Yep, really.
• Freeze this (or any freezer meal) flat. Easier to store/allows for better use of storage space.
• Some people recommend writing instructions outside of the bag. Since I re-use mine, I don’t do this. Instead, I write the instructions on a piece of paper that is taped inside the cupboard next to the freezer. Easy to access, don’t have to re-write, and it’s out of the way.

Here’s how your freezer bags should look before and after freezing: