Easy Broccoli Chicken

Thursday nights have been a boon to my cooking experience. Every Thursday, I go over to John and Carol's and we have dinner and watch a couple of episodes of my all-time favourite TV show, Deadwood (and often stay up too late yakking). This Thursday it was my turn to make the main course. I came across this recipe on the Kraft site and we all liked it quite a bit. I had an unaccustomed second helping, and so did Carol...and John had thirds!

 

It's a good family recipe, as it's not spicy or exotically flavoured. Just real comfort food that fills your belly nicely. And the fact that it's sauteed and then braised made the chicken nice and tender and moist. It was super easy to make too, which is the first thing I look for in a recipe these days. Good after-work recipe...only took half an hour from start to finish with very little prep time. Could have easily fed five...there was plenty left over, even after all our seconds and thirds, for a large lunch portion.

 

Easy Broccoli Chicken 

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 cups  fresh broccoli florets (or use any frozen veg you like, but the fresh broc was excellent)
• 1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken)
• 1   soup can water
• 1-1/2 cups instant white rice, uncooked  
• 1 cup  KRAFT Shredded Three Cheese with a Touch of PHILADELPHIA (couldn't find that, so I used the three-cheese Tex-Mex blend and it worked fine)
• (Optional: I sauteed some chopped onion before adding the chicken to the pot and added a generous grinding of my favourite McCormick Garlic & Pepper Medley Grinder. I'd say almost any added seasoning you like would be nice)

Saute chicken in large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 2 to 3 min. or until browned on all sides.
ADD broccoli, soup and water; stir. Bring to boil.
STIR in rice. Cook on low heat 5 min. Sprinkle the cheese on at the end to let it melt before serving.