Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Bake

This main entree comes together fast with a handful of ingredients, once you make the sauce. My Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce makes the dish both lighter and higher in protein.

Ingredients

Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce:

• 1 ½ cups cottage cheese
• 1 ½ cups evaporated milk
• 3 ½ ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Casserole:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups uncooked rotini pasta
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce:

1. Add cottage cheese and evaporated milk to the jar of a Vitamix blender (or other high-powered blender); blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds.
2. Pour cottage cheese mixture into a sauce pan over medium high heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese. garlic, and white pepper. Cook, stirring often, until sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; stir in parsley. Set aside.

Casserole:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Place butter in an 8×8-inch baking dish; microwave on Medium until melted, about 30 seconds.
3. Sprinkle minced garlic, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pinch black pepper over melted butter. Add rotini pasta evenly into the dish; pour chicken broth over pasta. Layer chopped broccoli on top.
4. Sprinkle the cubed chicken pieces with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Place chicken pieces on top of broccoli. Pour Alfredo sauce evenly over the casserole. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until pasta is tender, about 50 minutes.
6. Remove foil; sprinkle casserole with Parmesan cheese. Turn on the broiler and broil until golden, about 2 minutes.