CHICKEN/RICE/BROCCOLI CASSEROLE IN ALFREDO SAUCE

Steps:

• 1. Gather your ingredients. At this point, I usually show you all the ingredients; however, since I started this recipe with no clear idea of what I was going to put into it... I didn't have a photo of the ingredients.
• 2. Cook the rice according to package directions, and shave a few minutes off the cooking time.
• 3. Chef's Note: Standard rice calls for twice the water to the uncooked rice. For this recipe of 1.5 cups of rice, use 1/3 less water.
• 4. Cut up the broccoli into bite-sized pieces and reserve.
• 5. Chef's Tip: We will leave the broccoli raw, when adding to the casserole. The results are just the perfect amount of crunch.
• 6. Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems, and then thinly slice.
• 7. Finely dice the onions, and reserve. I forgot to take a photo of this step. My Bad.
• 8. Add two tablespoons of butter to a skillet over medium high heat.
• 9. Add the sliced mushrooms and diced onions, to the pan.
• 10. Sauté the mushrooms and onions until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.
• 11. Remove from pan, and reserve.
• 12. Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse, and then slice into bite-sized pieces.
• 13. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken until most of the pink is gone.
• 14. Remove chicken from the pan, and reserve.
• 15. Wipe the skillet out, and reserve for the Alfredo sauce.
• 16. Chef's Note: You could always do the Alfredo sauce in a nice sauce pan, but why bother... this keeps the kitchen mess down to a minimum.
• 17. Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 350f (176c).
• 18. THE ALFREDO SAUCE
• 19. In the skillet add the butter, and melt over medium heat, until the foaming subsides.
• 20. Add the minced garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• 21. Chef's Note: Keep the garlic moving, and don't allow to brown or burn.
• 22. Add the cream cheese to the pan, and begin to whisk into the garlic.
• 23. Chef's Tip: If you use low-fat cream cheese, it will taste a bit grainy after making the sauce.
• 24. Stir using a whisk until the mixture is smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
• 25. Chef's Note: It may look a bit curdled at first, but keep whisking, and it will smooth out nicely.
• 26. Add the milk, about a 1/4-cup at a time, and whisk until each addition is fully incorporated.
• 27. Chef's Tip: Many Alfredo sauces call for heavy cream, but resist that temptation. The cream will make this dish way too rich.
• 28. Add the Parmesan cheese; plus the pepper and salt, to taste
• 29. Whisk until fully incorporated.
• 30. Add the rice, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, and chicken to a large bowl.
• 31. Pour the Alfredo sauce over the ingredients, and fold together, until mixed.
• 32. Pour the ingredients into a baking dish.
• 33. Top with the panko breadcrumbs.
• 34. Chef's Note: To kick it up a bit, I added some freshly ground black pepper, and some cayenne to the panko breadcrumbs before adding to the casserole.
• 35. Place into the preheated oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.
• 36. Chef's Note: Mine went the full 40 minutes, and in the last 10 minutes, I turned the oven temp up to 400f (205c), to brown the top a bit.
• 37. Chef's Note: This came out exactly the way that I hoped it would. The dish had just the right amount of seasoning without being too heavy. And it wasn't too wet or too dry.
• 38. Serve with a nice side salad, and some crusty French bread. Enjoy.
• 39. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.