Turkey Divan

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Betty Crocker's Best Chicken Cookbook

2 pkgs (10 oz each) frozen broccoli spears
1/4 c margarine or butter
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1-1/2 c chicken broth
1 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c whipping (heavy) cream
2 tbsp dry white wine or chicken broth
6 large slices cooked turkey breast, 1/4 inch thick

Cook and drain broccoli as directed on package; keep warm. While broccoli is cooking, melt margarine in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir flour and nutmeg into margarine. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese, the whipping cream, and wine.

Place hot broccoli in ungreased rectangle baking dish, 11x7x1-1/2 inches. Top with turkey. Pour cheese sauce over turkey. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of the cheese.

Set oven control to broil. Broil with top 3 to 5 inches from heat about 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and light brown.

Tips/Tweaks

Keeping it Healthy

While little things can be done to lighten this dish up, we usually use the following ingredients to reduce the fat and sodium:

Unsalted butter
Reduced sodium chicken broth
Half-and-half (instead of heavy cream)

Fast Version

We always use frozen broccoli that is by the steam fresh brand. It is fast and easy to quickly microwave the broccoli for the dish.

Substitutions and Tips

We have only ever made this recipe with chicken. We typically cook cubed chicken breast in a little bit of olive oil until golden brown. We then use 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to deglaze the pan to give the cheese sauce a little more flavor.

In the pictures, you will notice we also put bread crumbs on top. We either include freshly baked french bread, cubed and placed in the casserole mixture (bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes) or we mix about 1 tbsp unsalted butter with about 1/2 c bread crumbs and sprinkle on top (bake at 350 degrees for about 5 to 10 minutes, instead of broiling).

Although not necessary, we like to serve this over cooked white rice.

Review

The cookbook that this recipe comes from is our most favorite cook book. We have made almost all of the recipes from it, and highly recommend to all chicken lovers, buy this cookbook! But aside from the cookbook, the recipe for chicken divan that we have always known has just been cream of chicken canned soup with some veggies and pieces of bread, so this recipe really brings a lot of amazing flavors to a classic dish!

Wonton Appetizers

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Hidden Valley and Sarah's college roommate, Vanessa Styx

2 c (1 lb) cooked crumbled sausage
1-1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese
1-1/2 c grated monterey jack cheese
1 c prepared Hidden Valley Ranch Original Ranch salad dressing mix
1 (2.25 oz) can sliced ripe olives
1/2 c chopped red pepper
1 pkg (16 oz) package fresh or frozen wonton wrappers
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a miniature muffin pan with cooking spray. Insert wonton wrapper into the muffin pan and press to form small cups.

Bake for 5 minutes. Allow the baked wrappers to cool. Remove the cups from the muffin tin and place on a cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, mix the sausage, cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, black olives, peppers, and ranch dressing. Fill the baked wonton wrapper cups with the sausage mixture.

Bake the filled wonton wrappers 5 to 10 minutes, until the sausage mixture is bubbly and slightly brown. Watch closely so the wonton wrappers do not burn.

Tips/Tweaks

Keeping it Healthy

Instead of using sausage, we always use ground chicken as the meat. The chicken works extremely well with the creaminess of the ranch dressing. We also use reduced-fat ranch dressing, the cheese adds enough fat to the appetizer.

As a personal preference, we tend to keep the olives out and use fresh red pepper. We really like the sweet and little crunch the fresh red pepper adds.

Review

This is not an appetizer we make often because it does need to be served warm and needs to be made in a few batches, but it is one of our favorites. We highly recommend serving this if you are hosting a gathering!