Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

I came up with this recipe by combining a few popular ones. I was really looking for a rice/cheese/broccoli/chicken casserole of some sort. It is very cheesey! It looks like a long list of prep, but it's actually really easy. My husband loved it, and my 2 1/2 year old ate almost all of his! Of course, when we asked my 2 1/2 year old what the recipe's name should be, he called it, "Oatmeal Rice" - didn't think that would be a great name!!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2  lbs chicken, cubed
• 2  cups brown rice, cooked
• 3  cups fresh broccoli florets, chopped
• 1  cup sour cream
• 1 (10 1/2ounce) can  cream of mushroom soup
• 7  tablespoons butter
• 2  tablespoons flour
• 2  garlic cloves, minced (I used jar garlic)
• 2  ounces cream cheese
• 8  ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1  cup skim milk
•  fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1 1⁄2 cups  buttery crackers, crushed (like Ritz, it's a whole sleeve)

Directions

1. Be sure to cook your rice first!
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in pan and saute chicken and minced garlic.
4. Steam broccoli (I cooked it in the microwave for 3 minutes with some water).
5. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a big pot. Add flour and wisk together.
6. Add cream cheese (might be helpful to melt cream cheese a little in microwave before adding so it melts better).
7. Add milk and wisk as much as possible to get out lumps (you'll still have little cream cheese lumps).
8. Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted and mixed inches.
9. Add sour cream and cream of mushroom soup and mix inches.
10. Add black pepper to taste.
11. Add chicken and garlic, rice and broccoli.
12. Pour mixture in casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes.
13. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add in the Ritz crackers (might need a little bit more butter if the crackers don't seem a little damp).
14. Spread the cracker mixture over the casserole and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
15. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.