Chicken & Broccoli Rice Casserole

This recipe is delicious and I cook it at least once a month for Mark. It is my dad's mother's recipe, whom we affectionately called, "Mrs. Ann" and to this day, I still don't know why we called her that, but we did! She passed away when I was 3 years old, so its nice to get to know her through some of her recipes. My dad has an amazing palate, and I'd like to think she had a little part in his expertise and his delicious combinations he throws together. I'm aspiring to be like the great chefs in my family, one day I'll get there!

Chicken & Broccoli Rice Casserole

-1 whole chicken (you know, the roasted chickens that are already cooked at Sam's...the best!)
-two 10 oz. pkgs of broccoli
-3 cups cooked rice
-1/2 cup mayo (I use lite, who needs all those calories??)
-2 Tbsp lemon juice
-1 teaspoon curry powder
-1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
-1 can cream of mushroom soup (again, I use the 94% fat free)
-1 can cream of chicken soup (94% fat free)

Steam the broccoli to where it's still a little crisp, it will get a little more tender in the oven. Shred the chicken off the bone, and combine all the ingredients together, except 1/2 cup cheese. Put into a casserole dish then sprinkle the top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees uncovered for 30 minutes.

This is super delicious and can be figure friendly if you use the lite calorie ingredients. I'm always up for a scrumptious recipe that is easy and doesn't have too many steps involved and this is one of them.

**Cook's note: Because we don't have a super huge family with lots of hungry kids (yet!), I divide the ingredients among two smaller casserole dishes, bake them the same amount of time, and eat one for dinner, and freeze the other for a different night. It takes the work out of it for the next time we want something yummy and if I've had a really busy day with no time for cooking this saves time! I put the frozen one right in a preheated oven for 30 minutes on 350, and poof...its done! That's what I did yesterday, and I felt so great because I was feeding my family something that was home made, without all the work!!

Happy cooking & enjoy:)