Reducipe – Chicken Divan

Posted on September 29, 2007 by Melissa
Filed Under Food, Reducipes

Reducipe
Pronunciation: ri-doos-uh-pee
Function: noun
1 : a recipe that can help lower your food costs in a variety of ways
     a : by scaling back an expensive recipe to be less pricey but still just as tasty
     b : by turning an already inexpensive meal into something special
     c : by using leftovers in creative ways to stretch their use

There are many different interpretations of the classic Chicken Divan casserole; most of them have some combination of chicken, broccoli, and cheese. I love the creaminess of this dish and we happen to favor the kind that uses curry powder. Paired with rice it makes a very satisfying meal. It also reheats very well for leftover lunches.

This recipe is a favorite for using up leftover shredded chicken. It is perfect if you are running low on leftover chicken since it tastes great even with very little chicken in it. To me, the chicken is simply an ingredient in this dish, not the star. This week I only had one chicken leg leftover for this dinner and it turned out fine. Eric remarked that it could even go without chicken entirely, just add more broccoli instead.

This recipe is also good to use in weeks where you are having multiple chicken dishes and you need several different flavor profiles. The curry powder lends a different and unique flavor and will help give the variety you need to keep the leftovers tasting new and fresh.

Chicken Divan

2-3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/3 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 (10oz) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
2 cups shredded chicken, cooked
½ -1 (10 3/4oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (a piece of torn up bread works great)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and oil in a hot pan. Sauté mushrooms and onions until the onions are almost translucent and the mushrooms are nicely browned. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl add the broccoli, chicken, and sautéed mushrooms and onions.

In a medium bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, mayonnaise, cheddar, lemon juice, wine, curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Whisk together and pour the mixture over the broccoli and chicken. Mix well.

Place the mixture in a buttered casserole dish (I use a glass 9×9) and smooth with a spatula. Combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle over the top.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and the breadcrumbs are toasty. Serve with rice. Crusty bread is also nice for any extra sauce. Makes about 4 servings (or 6 if you stretch it).

There may be a lot of ingredients, but it’s really easy to assemble them together. Check it out :

To save money some weeks, we will purchase a whole chicken, and butcher it into pieces at home, and then roast it. On those weeks, where we have lots of shredded chicken, we always try to make a chicken divan as one of our casseroles. By buying chicken in bulk, roasting it and then shredding it, we are able to get more meals out of it than if we ate the chicken as-is. Enjoy and let me know what you think of it!

Comments

2 Responses to “Reducipe – Chicken Divan”

And Miles To Go... on October 1st, 2007 10:49 pm

that sounds delicious!! I will be trying this one.
Wilson Torres » Blog Archive » Carnival of the Recipes: The Quotable Cook Edition on January 21st, 2008 2:25 pm

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