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!