Oma Herrmann's Saucy Chicken

Nothing brings me out of lurkdom better than a request for something or a specific question from someone that is best answered on my blog. It appears that a number of friends have been requesting a particularly favorite recipe of ours, so I thought my blog would be a good place to post it to share. It is actually a recipe my mom received from a family friend when she was on bedrest while pregnant with my sister, so this is an oldie, but a goodie. It played a large roll in our "Holly Jolly-ing" goal over the advent season for our family, as we prepared and gifted this meal to our teachers and an elderly neighbor.

Visiting Santa

Not sure why I didn't post about our Christmas or our "Holly Jolly-ing" - our name for what was going around as RACKing - Random Acts of Christmas Kindness in our social circle.  We did fairly well with our goal of trying to do a kind act for someone each day through the advent season.  We did miss a day here or there, but in general we tried to do something nearly every day and were pleased with the results. We did all number of things, but probably some of the best received or the things we felt the best about were cleaning up garbage on our way home from school one day (we got 3 overflowing garbage bags of trash in just a little over a half mile - we had to quit then because we couldn't carry anymore), bringing small surprises to various staff members at our school who are not often acknowledged one of which was especially fun- giving a roll of quarters to our super sweet custodian who readily hands out quarters to children who have forgotten theirs on popcorn day, bringing a prepared meal and desert to our elderly neighbor next door who was so pleased she wrote a thank you note that she MAILED to us, handing out treat bags with hot chocolate, Hershey's kisses and candy canes to friends and staff at school and surprising teachers with special unexpected treats and notes.  It added a lot of extra work during an already busy time, but it was so rewarding.  I'm hoping that we can continue to do some kind acts even now into the new year and perhaps make an effort to look for ways in which we can help our community throughout the year. It really made us all feel good and it would be fun to try to do some of the things we had on our list and didn't manage to do during the busy holiday season.


We hope you all (whoever reads this) had a good holiday break. Ours was fun, busy and over too fast. I would have liked another week of "vacation" after the holidays.  Christmas was filled with the wonder and joy of children who still are fully into every aspect of the season. We made gingerbread houses, visited Santa, decorated cookies with good friends, ate way too many sweets, stayed up way too late too often and had many, many wonderful hours of fun times with dear friends and family. We even (FINALLY) were able to Facetime with family on the east coast and have what felt like a real visit with them. I swear, Facetime on my iPad2 makes the cost of the item worth every single penny.  2011 was a good year for our family and I was sorry to see it go, but I am hopeful for what 2012 has in store for us.

Christmas Morning

Tristan received a number of Legos

Alyssa received her pink electric scooter

Well, if you have read to this point, you are deserving of the promised recipe, Oma Herrmann's Saucy Chicken (hee, I just accidentally typed "saucy children"!).  We make this with broccoli, but I have had it with artichoke hearts before too and it was quite good that way as well.  Feel free to modify as you wish. You can make this with low-fat options, but I've tried that and it didn't go over very well with my family.  I've also always thought that it would be delicious as a side dish for broccoli by just leaving the chicken out, though I've never actually tried that.

Oma Herrmann's Saucy Chicken

2 Pkgs frozen broccoli, cooked

2 cups sliced cooked chicken or 3 boned breasts diced (I use rotisserie chicken)

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup (or Cream of Mushroom if you prefer)

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use a bit more, closer to one cup)

1 to 2 lemons (one large or two small)

1/2 tsp curry powder (I put in a bit more)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (we use cheddar-jack)

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Arrange broccoli in a greased 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inch baking dish (or casserole).  Place cooked, diced chicken over this.

Combine soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry. Mix well and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Serve over cooked noodles of your choice.

I hope your family enjoys this meal as much as mine does.  Feel free to email me if you try it and let me know your feedback.