quick holiday meal

The holiday crazies are upon us in earnest... only 12 shopping days until Christmas! I needed to make a serious dent in my list, and spent most of today whittling away at it. Meanwhile the boy activities don't quit—in fact, they are busier than ever—and tonight's dinner posed a particular challenge because I had to feed five people at three different times. I found this on the internet, revised it a little based on what I had in my pantry, and thought I would share it in case it could help you out as well.

Total prep time was about 15 minutes, baking time was 30 minutes. You could make it in the morning and throw it in the fridge, but you might need to bake it slightly longer as a result.

It's that time of year—no pictures with this one. Besides, my eldest son's review was "it really doesn't look that great, but it's delicious." So I figured pictures were superfluous. It's the perfect quick and somewhat nutritious holiday meal. OK, so not particularly nutritious, but at least they get some veggies in them.

Ingredients
stuffing (I used Pepperidge Farms, but whatever you have in your pantry should do)
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken, or cheddar/broccoli...)
2 heads fresh broccoli (or 1 bag frozen)
1.5 lb chicken breasts
1/2 C milk (or whatever amount looks right; I just glugged it in)
4 T butter
1 T dried chopped onion
1/2 C chedder or mozzarella cheese (I used cheddar)
salt/pepper to taste

Start chicken breasts cooking. I put mine into a fry pan with water, white wine, a little chicken base and salt and pepper, but you could also grill them.

Clean broccoli (if fresh) and steam (I put mine into the microwave to cook).

Melt butter in separate saucepan, and then quickly fry dried onion in butter to hydrate (or if you have a better stocked kitchen, saute chopped onions and celery in the butter). Take pan off heat and add 4C stuffing and the can of chicken broth; cover and let sit while you finish up the rest. If you are using Stovetop, just follow the instructions on the box.

When chicken is fully cooked, cut into 1 in pieces and add to mixing bowl with broccoli, soup and milk; stir to combine. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray so you don't have an ungodly mess to clean up later and then pour this mixture in bottom. Top with stuffing and then sprinkle cheese on top.

Cook at 350 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes, until cheese is melted and chicken/broccoli mixture is bubbly.

Tell your kids to ignore how it looks and just try it. My littlest, pickiest eater had three helpings.