Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole

Okay, so tonight started with "What do you want for dinner?" "I don't know what do you want for dinner?" back and forth until nothing was decided and we were sitting here hungry. Restaurant?? Delivery?? Pick up??

With that I started to look in my refrigerator for what our options were; I did have chicken... I had some broccoli I needed to use...hhhmmm. So I went to my trusty internet where I came across this Gluten Free Casserole dish. We are not gluten free and I have never tried making anything specifically gluten free for my family, but I decided to give it a chance...

Chicken Broccoli Cheese Casserole

recipe is from Gluten Free Mommy here

CHICKEN BROCCOLI CHEESE CASSEROLE
1 lb cooked chicken, shredded Note: if you don’t have any cooked chicken on hand it is very simple to poach chicken breasts. Place the chicken in a large skillet with about 2 cups of water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 12-14 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees). Drain well. Shred chicken.
1 cup cooked brown rice (cooking the rice in gluten free chicken broth works nicely) --I used white rice
1 lb fresh broccoli, chopped
2 Tablespoons of butter
2 Tablespoons of rice flour --I used regular flour--
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of dried mustard
1 1/2 cups of milk --warm for 2 minutes in microwave while whisking flour and butter--
squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
1 Tablespoon of mayonnaise (optional)
1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs for topping
1/4 slivered almonds for topping
Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour, salt, pepper, and mustard, and cook 2-3 minutes until bubbly and foamy. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened. Stir in the shredded cheese. Place the brown rice, chicken, and broccoli in a casserole dish and pour the white sauce over the top. Add the mayonnaise and lemon juice if using and mix until combined. Spread the breadcrumbs and slivered almonds over the top. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

 I also added Worcestershire sauce in the cheese sauce and added the mayo with lemon in the cheese sauce and then added it to everything else. My family L-O-V-E-D this!!