chicken cashew casserole.

ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked brown rice (2 cups AFTER cooking)
• 2 large chicken breast halves (about 6 oz each)
• 1 TB olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup low fat mayo
• 1/2 can organic cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded or grated)
• salt & pepper
• crushed cashews (i used black pepper cashews, but any will do)

directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

cook your rice, set aside.

heat oil and garlic in a skillet.

chop your onion, pepper and celery and add it to the skillet.

cook until veggies are softening up but celery still has a little crisp to it. set aside.

add chicken to skillet that veggies cooked in. (you can dice it into chunks or strips before or after cooking, it is up to you.)

meanwhile, combine yogurt, mayo and condensed soup in a bowl.

when chicken is cooked through, dice it into bite sized pieces.

add, rice, chicken, veggies, cheese, salt & pepper (to taste) to the bowl.

pour mixture into 8”x8” or 9”x9” baking dish. sprinkle with more cheese if you’d like.

grab your cashews and crush ‘em.

sprinkle them on top.

bake until warmed through, about 30-40 minutes, uncovered.

makes six BIG, delicious servings!

i can’t wait to make this again.

for those doing BFL, it is not a perfect BFL meal—probably a bit high in fat due to the mayo and cashews. you could modify the recipe a bit to be closer to the 40/40/20 ratios. it is, however, great if you are in a maintenance phase!