CREAMY CHICKEN QUINOA AND BROCCOLI BAKE

Creamy Chicken Quinoa and Broccoli Bake image

Provided by Friends Foodies

Categories Healthy

Time 1h15m

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 11

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2 cups chicken broth (homemade preferred)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup white wine or 1/4 cup sherry wine
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (chives, parsley, basil) or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh herbs, of your choice (chives, parsley, basil)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup flour (or cornstarch)
2 cups cooked al-dente quinoa
1/4 cup cooked crumbled bacon (or slivered or sliced almonds)
1/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese (any favorite cheese will work -- parmesan, cheddar, fontina, etc.)
3 cups frozen organic broccoli florets
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

Steps:

Sauce: Bring the chicken broth and ½ cup milk to a low boil in a saucepan. Whisk the other ½.
cup milk with the poultry seasoning, garlic salt, and flour (or cornstarch); add the mixture (and wine / sherry if using) to the boiling liquid and whisk until a smooth creamy sauce forms. Taste and add Salt / Pepper to taste.
Assembly: In a large bowl, mix the sauce from step one, cooked quinoa, cooked chicken, frozen broccoli, and cheese and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish generously coated with cooking spray.
If freezing, spray the top of the mixture with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap, then place in the freezer and proceed to follow "brick" method of freezing. Place the crumbled bacon in a separate freezer bag and freeze alongside the pan.
On serving day, remove the frozen brick from the freezer, unwrap, and immediately place back in the 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray to thaw completely. Then proceed to bake:.
Bake: Stir the room-temperature bake to re-incorporate all flavors, then bake, loosely covered with foil, in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 - 30 minutes until heated through and bubbly. Remove, uncover, and top with the bacon crumbles (or almonds), then bake for 10 minutes longer, or just long enough to crisp the bacon (or toast the almonds).

Nutrition Facts : Calories 481.4, Fat 12.7, SaturatedFat 3.9, Cholesterol 87.4, Sodium 479.1, Carbohydrate 49.2, Fiber 4.3, Sugar 0.4, Protein 39.4