chicken cashew casserole.

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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.

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

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

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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.)

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

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

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

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

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grab your cashews and crush ‘em.

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sprinkle them on top.

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

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makes six BIG, delicious servings!

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i can’t wait to make this again.

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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!

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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

maddiecee January 9, 2011 at 4:01 pm

Hey Janetha! Though I’ve been reading your blog for several months now, this is the first time ive ever commented! I wanted to say that you have been a great inspiration for me on my journey to a healthy balanced lifestyle :) thanks so much

also do you know of any substitutes for mayo? This recipe is just up my ally, except that mayo has always kind of skeeved me out! I was thinking of maybe doubling up on the yogurt?

-maddie c

Reply

janetha January 10, 2011 at 1:43 pm

hey maddie!

i think it would be totally fine to up the yogurt and/or condensed soup amount. also, you could try using:

– veganaise (vegan version of mayo) – nayonaise (soy based version of mayo) – blended cottage cheese

those three things would lend a kick to the casserole but don’t taste anything like mayo. not sure if it is the ingredients or the flavor in mayo that you don’t like, but if you used one of the above, you would be avoiding both the taste and ingredients of mayo!

xo

Reply

maddiecee January 10, 2011 at 3:31 pm

ahh perfect! thanks so much, ive gotta try this this week. Comfort food at its finest :D

Reply

mel January 9, 2011 at 4:20 pm

Man, that looks good, I think Dan would even entertain eating it! I wish he wasn’t so picky!

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Jessy May 17, 2012 at 11:09 am

Janetha, I used your recipe as a base for today’s lunch and it turned out great! I did make a lot of substitutions based on what I had, so it was more an inspiration, but thank you, I’m super glad I tried it. It was easy and tasty! If I didn’t have time to bake it, it would be just as good as a normal risotto as well. :)

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Janetha May 21, 2012 at 9:13 am

Thank you for the feedback!!

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Lili June 10, 2012 at 11:08 pm

JUST MADE THIS, ITS IN THE OVEN.. IM TRYING TO COOK THINGS THAT MY BF WOULD LIKE.. HIS NOT A FAN OF EATING HEALTHY AND VEGGIES EITHER.. THIS WILL MAKE HIM HAPPY BECAUSE ITS A GOOD COMBO OF FATTY AND HEALTHY (: EXCITED TO TRY

Reply

janetha @ meals & moves June 11, 2012 at 9:04 am

Hope you liked it!

Reply

Howard Maynard March 30, 2013 at 1:51 pm

Cashew chicken but you do not tell us how many to use….Come on!

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