Cleaning House

The real beauty of the conservatory decked out in poinsettias did not show well in recent photo so I am posting one taken last year during daylight hours for a clearer picture.

The pictures of recipes on the right of this blog will be taken down over the weekend and replaced.  If you are looking for any of the recipes please go to left side of blog posting and click on 2011. The pictures are from recipes posted in the time period February, March and April 2011.
After several blog postings on recipes for Casseroles it was suggested that I might consider posting casserole/hot dish  recipes sent by readers. I would not be able to try out at this time with an upcoming Texas trip but certainly would consider posting your favorite for others to try. Just copy your recipe in the comment box at the end of the posting and it will go to my email.
Today will post a recipe that I had not thought about for years. It was sent to me by my cousin whose adult children still request this recipe. Chicken-Broccoli hot dish was typical of the 60's and 70's when canned soups began to change the way women cooked. Since both of us came from large families our mothers looked for ways to incorporate veggies into the meal to make it more nutritious. But mostly I remember my mother serving this meal frequently for her bridge groups.

CHICKEN-BROCCOLI HOT DISH    
Serves 6

 Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts            
•  2 boxes broccoli spears or florets (cuts)
• ½ cup real mayonnaise
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• ½ Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 can french-fried onions

 Directions:

• ·         Bake chicken breasts until done.  Cube meat into bite-size pieces.
• ·         Defrost broccoli and drain until dry.  Arrange broccoli on bottom of 8x8” buttered pan.  Season with salt and pepper.
• ·         In a separate bowl, combine mayonnaise, soup and lemon juice.  Add chicken to mixture.  Pour and   spread over broccoli. *
• ·         Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
• ·         Uncover, sprinkle with french-fried onions, and bake for 5 minutes more.
• ·         Nice served with cranberry sauce.

 *May be frozen at this point.  Thaw overnight in refrigerator before baking.