chicken/rice/broccoli casserole in alfredo sauce

How To Make chicken/rice/broccoli casserole in alfredo sauce

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  Step 1
  Gather your ingredients. At this point, I usually show you all the ingredients; however, since I started this recipe with no clear idea of what I was going to put into it... I didn't have a photo of the ingredients.
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  Step 2
  Cook the rice according to package directions, and shave a few minutes off the cooking time.
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  Step 3
  Chef’s Note: Standard rice calls for twice the water to the uncooked rice. For this recipe of 1.5 cups of rice, use 1/3 less water.
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  Step 4
  Cut up the broccoli into bite-sized pieces and reserve.
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  Step 5
  Chef's Tip: We will leave the broccoli raw, when adding to the casserole. The results are just the perfect amount of crunch.
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  Step 6
  Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems, and then thinly slice.
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  Step 7
  Finely dice the onions, and reserve. I forgot to take a photo of this step. My Bad.
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  Step 8
  Add two tablespoons of butter to a skillet over medium high heat.
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  Step 9
  Add the sliced mushrooms and diced onions, to the pan.
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  Step 10
  Sauté the mushrooms and onions until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.
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  Step 11
  Remove from pan, and reserve.
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  Step 12
  Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse, and then slice into bite-sized pieces.
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  Step 13
  Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken until most of the pink is gone.
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  Step 14
  Remove chicken from the pan, and reserve.
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  Step 15
  Wipe the skillet out, and reserve for the Alfredo sauce.
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  Step 16
  Chef's Note: You could always do the Alfredo sauce in a nice sauce pan, but why bother... this keeps the kitchen mess down to a minimum.
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  Step 17
  Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 350f (176c).
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  Step 18
  THE ALFREDO SAUCE
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  Step 19
  In the skillet add the butter, and melt over medium heat, until the foaming subsides.
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  Step 20
  Add the minced garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
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  Step 21
  Chef’s Note: Keep the garlic moving, and don’t allow to brown or burn.
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  Step 22
  Add the cream cheese to the pan, and begin to whisk into the garlic.
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  Step 23
  Chef's Tip: If you use low-fat cream cheese, it will taste a bit grainy after making the sauce.
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  Step 24
  Stir using a whisk until the mixture is smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
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  Step 25
  Chef’s Note: It may look a bit curdled at first, but keep whisking, and it will smooth out nicely.
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  Step 26
  Add the milk, about a 1/4-cup at a time, and whisk until each addition is fully incorporated.
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  Step 27
  Chef's Tip: Many Alfredo sauces call for heavy cream, but resist that temptation. The cream will make this dish way too rich.
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  Step 28
  Add the Parmesan cheese; plus the pepper and salt, to taste
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  Step 29
  Whisk until fully incorporated.
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  Step 30
  Add the rice, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, and chicken to a large bowl.
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  Step 31
  Pour the Alfredo sauce over the ingredients, and fold together, until mixed.
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  Step 32
  Pour the ingredients into a baking dish.
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  Step 33
  Top with the panko breadcrumbs.
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  Step 34
  Chef's Note: To kick it up a bit, I added some freshly ground black pepper, and some cayenne to the panko breadcrumbs before adding to the casserole.
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  Step 35
  Place into the preheated oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.
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  Step 36
  Chef's Note: Mine went the full 40 minutes, and in the last 10 minutes, I turned the oven temp up to 400f (205c), to brown the top a bit.
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  Step 37
  Chef's Note: This came out exactly the way that I hoped it would. The dish had just the right amount of seasoning without being too heavy. And it wasn't too wet or too dry.
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  Step 38
  Serve with a nice side salad, and some crusty French bread. Enjoy.
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  Step 39
  Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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