Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Broccoli Bake

This was requested by my good friend Heather and I feel awful for it taking me a couple days to post but I just now found it. :) This is always a favorite of mine but I haven't made it in a while.

1 bag of frozen broccoli
3 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup of rice
3 cups of chicken broth
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp Garlic & onion powder
1 jar Cheese Wiz cheese sauce
2 bags shreaded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the rice in the chicken broth with butter until soft. Fluff with fork.
2. While the rice is cooking, in a skillet heat the Olive oil over medium high heat. Cook chicken breasts until golden on the outside, roughly 5-6 minutes each side. Once cooked dice the chicken into bite sizes pieces.
3. Place broccoli in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 6-8 minutes until soft. Drain and chop pieces into bite size pieces if there are some that are too big.
4. In a microwave safe dish place the cheese wiz. Place in microwave and slowly melt. (I heat it for 1 minute intervals as to not burn it). Once the Cheese sauce is melted mix in the spices and 1 bag of cheddar cheese.
5. Once the rice is done mix the chicken, broccoli, rice, and cheese sauce in a large bowl. Pour into a casserole dish. Cover with the last bag of cheddar cheese and place into a preheated 375 degree oven. Allow to bake until cheese is melted and bubbling. The chicken will finish cooking while it's in the oven so don't worry if it's a tad pink in the middle.


Some great varieties to this are to add bread crumbs to the top. To accomplish this I like to take a bag of savory herbs Stove Top and beat with a rolling pin until they're fine. Then sprinkle on top of the cheese once melted and allow to bake for another few minutes. You can also add diced onions and green peppers to this dish or cauliflower and carrots as well. :) If you like your dish really really cheesy you can use 2 jars of cheese wiz and it'll make it SUPER cheesy. I also like to use a Cheddar and Monterey Jack blend for the top of mine. :)