Traditional Chicken Divan

CFRP's Note:

No mayonnaise, no "cream of whatever" soups - just an old fashioned chicken divan recipe that is definitely worth the extra effort. You can substitute chicken thighs for the breasts and use any combination of shredded cheese that you happen to have on hand. You can also substitute any dairy product (i.e. cream) for the milk depending on how decadent you would like to be. The recipe can be doubled or tripled easily and it freezes beautifully. Serve over rice.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 bunches broccoli
• 2 -4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk or 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/3 cup sherry wine
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more to taste)
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Steam broccoli for 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Alternatively, place broccoli in a shallow bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2-5 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave) until crisp-tender. Drain in colander.
3. In a medium frying pan, saute chicken breasts in olive oil until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and drain on paper towls.
4. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes to eliminate the taste of raw flour. Then gradually whisk in chicken broth, sherry and milk or half and half, until incorporated. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the sauce is the consistency you desire. Add just a dash of nutmeg. Add 3/4 of the cheese blend and whisk until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. In a 9x13 dish arrange chicken breasts (either whole or sliced) and broccoli. Pour sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. Make several slits in the aluminum foil to allow the steam to escape.
6. Note: At this point, the dish can be frozen or refrigerated.
7. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, taking off the aluminum foil for the last 10.

Reviews

[breezermom]

I cut this recipe down for one, and it is definitely comfort food. I will thicken up the sauce a bit more next time, because the sauce really thinned while in the oven. But the flavors are all there, and this was a very enjoyable dinner. I used "real" sherry, not cooking sherry and that reduced the sodium content and really increased the flavor. Easy enough to make on a weeknight too. Thanks for sharing! Made for the Naked Recipe Event in the Photo Forum.

[rilee101]

I made this tonight for dinner and OMG it was amazing! I made this to pour over egg noodles so I doubled the sauce. Once I poured this over the chicken and broccoli I thought there was too little sauce so I made another single batch. I was pleasantly surprised that the sauce thinned out during the cooking process and the extra sauce I made wasn't really needed. We also had a good portion left over which will come in handy for a quick meal later in the week. Thanks so much CFRP!

[Christina Sue]

This was pretty good and simple to make. I have to admit I strayed from the original recipe a bit. I did add some curry powder and omitted the sherry and nutmeg since I didn't have any. I was scared of not having enough sauce, and I think I ended up with too MUCH sauce. Husband and son really enjoyed this.