Smoked Chicken-Broccoli Casserole

This recipe came about from a huge chicken breast we smoked on the grill last week that was not eaten. This casserole is a perfect meld of flavors that is sure to please. It is edibly rich and delicious. My husband rants about this one when I make it. The smoke flavor of the meat is what makes it so tasty! This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets if you can fit it into your daily macro limits. You can lower the nutritional numbers below by stretching this to 5 servings or reducing the heavy cream, the cream cheese but bear in mind the final dish will be somewhat “thicker” on the fork.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large grilled chicken breast, chopped (mine yielded 2½ c.)

1 stalk broccoli, stem removed, cut into small flowerets

2 T. butter, unsalted

2 oz. onion, slivered thinly

6 large mushrooms, sliced

8 oz. cream cheese

2/3 c. heavy cream

¼ c. hemp hearts (optional)

1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Dash coarse black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Melt butter in skillet and saute onion & mushrooms until translucent. While it is cooking, cut up the chicken into bite-size pieces. Add the broccoli to the pan and saute for just 1-2 minutes. Dot the skillet with small pieces of the cream cheese and blend to aid in melting. Add the cream, shredded Parmesan hemp heart and fold all together lightly to blend. Remove from heat and pour/spoon into a lightly oiled baking dish. Pop into 350º oven for 20-25 minutes to allow flavors to meld and develop. Remove and serve with a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings each containing:

736 cals, 59g fat, 8.32g carbs, 2.15g fiber, 6.17g NET CARBS, 44.3g protein, 916 mg sodium