Chick-Un Divan Casserole

Growing up, Chicken Divan was a family favorite - wow my mom made the best divan on the planet!! Over the years, my mom, my sister and I all made slight adjustments to the recipe (making everything from scratch instead of using canned soups, adding spinach to the dish as well as the broccoli, increasing the curry powder in the bread crumbs etc). When I decided to start cooking vegan fare, I decided I must try veganizing this dish and I successfully made a delicious version (see previous blog post for the recipe : http://veganizingfun.blogspot.com/2010/12/breads-cookies-and-more.html). I have made the veganized version many times and today I decided to give it a makeover with a few changes to the recipe! The results were fabulous and I might add that this will likely be the way I make it from here on out! My 3 year old ate 3 helpings! This dish is usually served over rice but this time I mixed the rice into the sauce with the broccoli and "chicken" and baked it all together. Wow!!

Chick-Un Divan Casserole

Sauce:
5 T vegan butter
2/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened soy milk
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 T faux chicken boullion ( I like Better Than Boullion brand)
2 t curry powder

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until thick paste forms. Slowly add soy milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Continue to stir until thick and bubbly. Whisk in water, boullion, and curry powder. Stir until mixed, thick and bubbly. Set aside.

Remaining ingredients:
4-5 cups cooked brown rice (use 4 cups if you want a saucier casserole and 5 if you want a little less saucy casserole - either way will yield a creamy casserole)
4 cups chopped broccoli
1 package Gardein "chicken", chopped (the scallopini will work, the mandarin or terriyaki will work too, just keep the sauce for another use)
2 1/2 T canola oil, divided
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 1/2 t curry powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t Italian seasoning

Steam broccoli until crisp tender. Run cold water over it to stop the cooking. Place in a large bowl. Add the rice and the sauce (recipe above) and stir to incorporate. Meanwhile, heat 1 1/2 T canola oil in a skillet and add chopped Gardein. Cook until browned (about 5-8 min). Add Gardein to the rice mixture. Stir to incorporate. In a separate bowl, combine remaining 1 T oil, bread crumbs, curry, salt and Italian seasoning. Stir until spices, oil and crumbs are well mixed. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and transfer rice mixture to pan. Smooth top. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top of casserole. Bake at 400 for about 20 min or until bubbly. Serve with extra veggies on the side!