Recipe: Creamy Chicken & Zucchini Casserole

I bought several large zucchini thinking I would make zoodles, but then I came across this casserole recipe from Eating Well, and since I had all the other ingredients, I thought I would try it.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into ¾-inch pieces 
• 3 teaspoons salt-free garlic-and-herb seasoning blend, divided
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped (5 cups)
• 1 tablespoon water plus ¼ cup, divided
• 6 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for garnish
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup unsalted chicken broth
• ½ cup whole milk
• 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• ½ cup shredded Pecorino Romano cheese, divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and 1 teaspoon garlic-and-herb seasoning; cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and cooked through (165°F), about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Wipe the skillet clean. Add chopped zucchini, 1 tablespoon water and 1 teaspoon garlic-and-herb seasoning to the skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the chicken.
2. Add chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon salt and the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon garlic-and-herb seasoning to the skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and the mixture is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Whisk in 3 tablespoons flour; cook, whisking often, until the mixture smells nutty, about 2 minutes. Add ¾ cup broth, ½ cup milk and the remaining ¼ cup water; continue cooking, whisking often, until smooth and thickened, about 4 minutes. Stir in 4 ounces cream cheese until smooth and well combined, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add ½ cup mozzarella and ¼ cup Pecorino, stirring until melted and smooth, about 1 minute.
3. Spread half of the cheese sauce in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Add the chicken and zucchini; top with the remaining cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup mozzarella and ¼ cup Pecorino. Bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with additional pepper, if desired.

To make things easier/cleaner, I baked the chicken (I used thighs) in the air fryer, and once that was done, I put in the zucchini and cooked that in the air fryer, too. So much faster! I also use the diced garlic from a jar and whatever random spices I already had in the pantry. 

While the recipe doesn't use this word, I think the butter-flour-cheese mixture is called a "roux," and this was my first time making one. But it worked! It took a little while to thicken up, but once it did, I knew I was on the right track. And even though I forgot to pre-heat the oven until I was half-way through making the recipe, I simply cooked everything until the cheese on top started to brown. And that was just right!

I think the recipe smells better than it tastes. Coming out of the oven, it smells so good! But the taste is just okay. But this could be more about the spices I used (or lack thereof). It's still a pretty good (and easy!) recipe, so I'm still happy I made it. Anything with cream cheese in it is good in my book!