Make My Day Camp: Pasta, Chicken, Broccoli Bake

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Pasta, Chicken, Broccoli Bake

I intended to make this for a ‘my sis is hungry’ post but she was gone over the weekend and it sounded so good I made it for Dave and I instead! So we don’t get to hear her review but I’m pretty certain it would go something like this:

“Oh my gosh we loved this so much. My sister is an amazing cook and this dish is a winner. I love her so much, she’s so talented, thoughtful, beautiful, funny, wonderful, and precious to me - what ever would I do without her. We give this a 10+”

Ok, ok, maybe that’s not what her review would have sounded like LOL but this dish really is very good! We don’t need her review to tell us that we are definitely going to put this into a recurring recipe! It looks like a long list of ingredients but truthfully I omitted the onion, red pepper, garlic, and pecans and it’s still great! It’s basically a cream gravy over cooked chicken, store-bought ravioli, and broccoli with a butter and cracker topping. Not hard! I’ll write the recipe how I made it, click the link to see the original recipe and make it how you want. Note the original recipe is poorly written and I took it upon myself to clean it up hahah!

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Pinch of coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (20 oz) package refrigerated mixed cheese tortellini
4 cups chopped fresh broccoli
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 sleeve (approx 15) ritz crackers, crushed
3 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9” baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add flour stirring until smooth. Cook stirring constantly for a minute. Slowly whisk in broth, adding a little at a time whisking constantly until absorbed before adding a little more - if you do it slowly you shouldn’t have any lumps. The whisk in half-and-half and wine; continue to cook, stirring constantly p, 6 to 8 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.

3. Remove from heat; add 1 cup Parmesan, garlic salt, salt and pepper, stirring until the cheese melts. Stir in tortellini, broccoli, and chicken until combined. Adjust seasoning as desired (I added more salt and pepper to taste). Spoon into prepared pan.

4. In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup Parmesan and crushed ritz, add melted butter and stir to combine. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 350’ for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly.