Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole

I found a recipe for a rice casserole quite a few years ago and my family just fell in love with it!  Unfortunately for them I don't often follow a recipe exactly and so it's not always so easy for me to re-make something new that we all love.

Luckily this is one recipe that always seems to come out tasting pretty similar regardless of slight variations we've made here and there.

Chicken, Broccoli, & Rice Casserole Ingredients:

3 cups broccoli florets, thawed (or if using fresh lightly steamed)
2 chicken breasts cooked & cubed (though we often use leftover bits of a whole chicken; you want about 2 cups)
2-3 cups white rice, cooked
1 2 cup pkg shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine; divided
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp. Onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/4 cups milk
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
1 sleeve Ritz crackers; crushed
cooking spray

1. Spray a 8x8 or 9x9 pan with cooking spray and heat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl mix together broccoli, chicken, rice, shredded cheese and mayonnaise. Set bowl aside.

3.  In a small pan heat 1Tbsp of the butter and add flour.  Stir constantly with wire whisk.  Gradually add in the milk and stir constantly until bubbly and thickened.  Remove from hear and season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Pour over rice mixture.  Stir completely to combine.

4.  Spread rice mixture into the prepared pan.  Combine the remaining Tbsp of melted butter with the crushed Ritz crackers then sprinkle over the top of the casserole.  Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and edges are browning slightly.

I doubled the recipe and  made 2; one for dinner and one to freeze for another night

We get 6 servings from one pan.

But any leftovers reheat beautifully the next day.

It's so cheesy and tasty!