In the middle of all the craziness of the last few months, I was asked to write an article for a Low Carb Magazine and share a recipe with their readers. I was very honored and more than a bit intimidated, but since cheese is naturally low carb and since I have stacks and stacks of cheese recipes, I decided to do it. As I was sorting through my recipes I realized that I love carbs. I really love carbs. My recipes have a lot of carbs! Did I mention that I am prediabetic and should watch my carbs? Writing the article was convicting.
Things have been a bit crazy starting in September with lots of little things going on. We remodeling the room over the garage. Elizabeth (my blogging cohort) left to focus on her own business. My daughter got married. Our new creamery opened. Little things like that. Okay, those aren’t little, those are big! Then the holidays hit so my one month break from blogging stretched into four months.
I missed this so much. Testing and tasting and sharing are so gratifying. Writing the article reminded me of why I love sharing. I’m really happy to be back and I have a bunch of new ideas for recipes that I think you will love!
Because of the article and my pangs of guilt, I was inspired to share a low carb recipe today. It may be the only one and I will go back to eating lots of carbs, but I’m still basking in the enthusiasm of my New Year’s resolution to eat healthier. Recipes like this make eating healthy a whole lot easier.
Chicken Divan
Prep the ingredients:
First, cook some chicken and cut it into bite size chunks. I used boneless, skinless chicken breast, but chicken thighs would be good too.
Steam some broccoli. It will cook more later so don’t overcook it!
Put the broccoli and chicken in a large bowl. Set aside.
Make the Bechamel:
Bechamel sounds so much richer than cream sauce, doesn’t it? Start by melting some butter in a skillet.
Once the butter is completely melted and most of the water is cooked out*, add the flour. Yes, I said this is a low carb recipe, not no carb. Please forgive me, I’m doing my best.
*Most butter in the US contains 15-17% percent water, generic brands have the most. European butter has significantly less.
Cook the flour and butter until the raw flour taste is cooked out. It only takes a couple of minutes, but it makes a world of difference in the flavor.
Stir in some half and half. You can use lowfat milk if you want, I won’t stop you.
Cook, stirring continually, until the bechamel starts to thicken. Add the Maasdammer a little bit at a time. Maasdammer is in the Swiss family and has a lovely flavor that is creamy and sweet, making it perfect for a sauce.
Grate on a little bit of fresh nutmeg. This is optional, but highly recommended.
Put it all together:
Add the sauce to the chicken and broccoli.
Mix together. Doesn’t that look luscious!
Grate some Parmesan. The Parmesan adds a sharp nutty flavor to the divan.
Spread the chicken and broccoli mixture into an oven proof casserole dish and sprinkle Parmesan over the top.
Make that LOTS of Parmesan.
Bake until bubbly and golden brown. Enjoy!
For your convenience, here’s a printable version.