Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This week will be a busy one! Yesterday I spent a few hours in the kitchen making all the meals for the week. I hope to blog some of them soon. There was a Black Bean and Corn Lasagna, Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Rubbed Steaks with Blistered Red Potatoes, Boneless Pork Ribs with Sauteed Apples, and Carrot Cake. We had the steaks last night and they were delicious! I hope to blog these recipes later this week :)

This is a recipe I made last week Tuesday in a rush so I could have some dinner after class. I prepped it by 2pm and then when I was home at 6pm I threw it in the oven. It turned over quite good. It was a little dry, so I added a little bit of an herb oil I made when I served it and then it was just perfect. 

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

-Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta

-Broccoli

-2 chicken breasts, diced

-2 tbsp Olive Oil

-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- Breadcrumbs

-4 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Prepare as much pasta as you would like in a medium sauce pan, as directed by the package. When finished, drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil and add the diced chicken. 
3. Once all sides of the chicken are white, add the remaining oil and broccoli. You can also add the balsamic vinegar. Sadly, the vinegar is acidic so it turns the broccoli and dull green-brown color. If I were cooking for appearance I would omit it all together, but I cook for taste.
4. Cook the mixture until the chicken reaches 165F. 
5. Turn off the heat and add the cooked pasta. Stir to mix well.
6. Heat the oven to 350F and spray a large casserole dish.
7. Put the mixture into the casserole dish. Top with cheese and breadcrumbs.
8. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden.