Baked Potato Chicken and Broccoli Casserole & Second Toe Surgery

With my second toe surgery was set for Tuesday, and I knew we wouldn’t want to be cooking so I made up a casserole the day before so all that we needed to do was reheat it.  I used the recipe for Baked Potato Chicken and Broccoli Casserole from Mary’s “Barefeet In The Kitchen” blog. Since I wanted plenty of leftovers, I increased the ingredients by 50% to get the recipe below.  Just click on the above link for her original recipe and some tasty looking pics.

Baked Potato Chicken and Broccoli Casserole - Adapted from Barefeet In The Kitchen

Ingredients:

4½ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

6 tablespoons butter room temperature

1½ cup sour cream

1½ teaspoon kosher salt

¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

¾ teaspoon paprika

4 cups bite-size broccoli florets

4½ cups cooked chopped chicken of your choice

6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled

3 cups shredded cheese see cook’s note, divided

Instructions:

1. Prep the chicken, season with salt and pepper and bake to an internal temperature of 160 for the breasts and 175F for the thighs.  I used six large thighs and three medium breasts.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

3. Grease an 11x13-inch baking dish with butter or cooking spray.

4. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and then transfer them back to the hot pot.

5. While the potatoes are boiling, steam or roast the broccoli until hot and barely softened. It should still be a little bit crisp. (I used our insert to steam it above the potatoes at the same time).

6. Cook the bacon, chop or crumble and set aside.

7. Place the pot with the potatoes back over the warm (but turned off) burner, if you have a gas stove turn the heat to the lowest possible setting. (This will help evaporate any water left in the pan and keep the mashed potatoes nice and fluffy.)

8. Smash the potatoes with a potato masher. (I added the mashed potatoes to a large bowl to mix).

9. Add the butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika. Stir to combine.

10. Add the cooked broccoli, the chicken, the bacon, and 1 cup of cheese to the bowl and stir to mix throughout.

11. Transfer to the prepared 11"x13” baking dish sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is heated through – about 35 minutes for us.

The Verdict:

While it was still good reheated, I thought it was delicious right out of the oven so I’ll eat it that way first next time.

While there was not a decent pic to be made since it was in a bowl, it was awesome with a couple of runny yolked eggs stirred into it.

On Tuesday, I had the toes on my right foot fixed same as the left foot had been done in July and according to the doctor, it was not as bad as the left foot and all went well with the surgery.  After learning a lot from the first surgery, the recovery should go much better this time  This is the before surgery x-ray.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/12/22 meal date