Ingredients
5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves — cut in 1″ strips
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic – pressed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup mushrooms — sliced
1 4-6 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts – drained
2 tablespoons flour
1 15 ounce can chicken broth
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, brown chicken lightly in 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, add the garlic and mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and keep cooking till chicken mixture is smelling very garlicky. Transfer browned chicken strips to a 2 quart baking dish (if you double this recipe, for your extra casserole, use an aluminum pan so you don’t have to round up your other casserole dish); arrange artichoke hearts on top. In the skillet, melt remaining butter and olive oil, and add the flour, whisking to blend (no lumps!). Add broth and cook until thickened then pour over chicken mixture. Bake the casserole, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes. Per Serving: 495 Calories; 14g Fat; 84g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 236mg Cholesterol; 560mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 11 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 1/2 Fat. SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Some brown rice, steamed broccoli and a big green salad. After the casserole has totally cooled, carefully place your casserole in a zipper-topped plastic FREEZER bag and remove all air before sealing. Huge 1 1/2 to 2 gallon bags are perfect for this. (IMPORTANT note about freezer bags: this will aid in the casserole tasting fresh. Those bags are designed to take the cold and regular bags are more permeable and will not keep your food as fresh) Next, mark the bag with what you made (Cathy’s Cheesy Casserole, for example) and the DATE. Add the heating instructions-like preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbling, etc. Use a Sharpie pen for this task (it’s the only pen that will hold up to the freezer without running. To keep your Sharpie from running off with the nearest child, hide your Sharpie in the freezer bag box or you’ll never see it again. Remember: this hiding place you will take to your grave-tell no one). To cook the casserole, remove from the freezer the night before and place in the fridge to thaw overnight. By the time cooking time comes, it may not be completely thawed but that’s okay. You will most likely need to cook the casserole longer to reheat, but an easy way to do that is give the original cooking time and add the caveat, OR until hot and bubbly. Getting your casserole dish back can be a hassle, so make sure you make yourself a note so you know where it is or use a disposable one and forgetaboutit!
