GUEST POST: Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

I'm so excited for my first guest post today! Mindi and I went to high school together, then reconnected over facebook and our blogs. I asked her to be my first guest blogger and her photos are great! Welcome Mindi from Simply Stavish..........
Hi, I'm Mindi, a working mom of two boys crazy little boys, Xander and Noah. During the week I work for a children's hospital as a Speech-Language Pathologist, all while wishing I was at home playing with my boys. I blog over at Simply Stavish about my family, knitting, crafting and my latest passion, photography. I recently started a weekly feature, Mommy Minute Monday, where I share information on topics in speech, language, voice and oral motor development. My idea is to share useful and fun information, such as tips on building your child's language while cleaning the house.

I am super excited to be guest posting today for Jennifer. I love that our blogging friendship has grown over the past few years, as we watch our children grow together. Our boys are very close together in age so it's fun to cheer them on as they reach milestones and celebrate birthdays. Since I'm working on taking better pictures of food I want to share one of our families' favorite meals, Chicken and Broccoli Casserole with Crunchy Almond Topping. This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Meal Makeover Mom's No Whine With Dinner.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole with Crunchy Almond Topping

Serving Size: 4-6

Total Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups of Chopped Broccoli

2 tablespoons Chicken Poultry Seasoning

1 pound Chicken Breast (cut into bite size pieces

1 cup Canned Cream of Chicken Soup

1⁄3 cup Light Canola Mayonnaise

1⁄4 cup Sliced Almonds, chopped finely (optional or can be substituted with pecans or walnuts)

1⁄4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

2 tablespoons Ground Flax Seed

2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350. Chop and steam broccoli florets.

Step 2: Meanwhile, season chicken with poultry seasoning and cook in skillet (until done).

Step 3:  In a large bowl, whisk together the soup,  mayonnaise, and additional spices (I throw in garlic powder, dill, and oregano) until well combined.

Step 4: Add the chicken and broccoli and stir gently to combine.

Step 5: Place in a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.

Step 6: To make the topping, blend together the almonds, breadcrumbs, flaxseed and Parmesan cheese. Spread evenly over the chicken mixture. I use my Magic Bullet for this but a blender or food processor would work just as well. Omit the nuts if serving to a young child or anyone with a nut allergy. Walnuts or pecans are great as part of the topping too.

Step 7: Bake until the mixture bubbles and the topping turns golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Step 8: Serve over brown or white rice and enjoy.

Check out my recipe index of over 60 recipes including other casserole dishes!