Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole

Another great recipe from a blog I follow Naturally Knocked Up . I'm not usually a fan of casserole's, but this one was easy to make, tasty and most importantly provided enough leftovers for another meal. I'm always a fan of taking a night off from cooking, but still being able to eat a good meal at home.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoon flour or cornstarch
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix or a great homemade version Italian Dressing Mix
  
• 1/2 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1/2 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  
• 2-3 cooked and cubed chicken breasts
• 1 box rotini pasta or 1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice
• 1/2 head of steamed broccoli or 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli

Directions:

1. Cook chicken in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and set aside.
   
2. Cook pasta until al dente or slightly firm. If you're using rice, boil 3 cups of water and cook until done.
3. In a deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour or cornstarch to make a rue.
   
4. Whisk in 3 cups of chicken broth
5. Once at a gentle boil, whisk occasionally and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened (won't be super thick).
6. Stir in the cream cheese and all the seasonings. Mix well and taste.
7. Let simmer for a few minutes while you grease a 9x13 pan.
8. Dump the pasta (or rice), chicken and broccoli into your pan followed by the cream cheese mixture.
9. Bake for 20min. at 350 degrees.