Cheesy Chicken & Kale Casserole

We have a new recipe that will be added into our rotation ... this delicious chicken casserole with kale, rice and mushrooms. I found it on the blog Peas and Crayons while I was searching for yummy kale recipes. A few of my modifications were the addition of chicken, using a coconut oil/olive oil/butter blend when she used butter alone and not using red pepper flakes.

Over the past several months, one of my favorite snacks has been Kale Chips. I love to eat them warm and fresh from the oven. They are SO good. Since I've enjoyed them so much, I decided to try kale in other dishes like omelets and now this casserole. I think I'm ready to replace my spinach dishes with kale since it is so tasty sauteed and mixed in.

Let me know if you try it!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups dry rice (I used a mixture of Jasmati and long grain) cooked
• 3 to 4 good-sized chicken breasts quartered and dredged in flour
• 1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
• Good-sized bunch of Kale, torn up into little pieces
• Container of fresh sliced mushrooms
• 2-3 T of butter/olive oil/coconut oil mixture
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Shredded cheddar
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

• Cook rice until done.
• Saute kale and mushrooms in the butter/olive oil/coconut oil mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
• Brown the dredged chicken on both sides. Once browned, add chicken broth and simmer on medium high heat for about 20 minutes.
• Once chicken is done, mix in the rice, kale/mushroom mixture along with the cottage cheese, garlic powder and half the Parmesan cheese. 
• Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle shredded cheddar and the rest of the Parmesan cheese on top.
• Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil for 5 minutes until top is browned. Be careful top doesn't burn!
• Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting!