CHICKEN DIVAN

3-4 cups diced cooked chicken

16 ounces frozen broccoli florets

4 ounce can mushrooms, drained

8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

3 ounces fresh mushrooms, minced

1 stalk celery, minced

2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1/2-1 teaspoon xanthan gum, optional *

Salt, to taste

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/8 teaspoon curry powder

Cook the broccoli according to package directions for 7-8 minutes; drain. In a large non-stick skillet, sautÚ the fresh mushrooms, celery and onion in the butter until soft and lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add the broth; bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add the cream and xanthan gum at this point, if using, and simmer on medium heat until thickened. Gradually whisk in the mayonnaise until well blended. Stir in the curry powder.

In a greased 9x13" glass baking dish, mix the chicken, broccoli and canned mushrooms. Season to taste. Mix in the cheese. Pour in the mushroom sauce and mix well. Cover with foil and bake at 350║ for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes until bubbly and a little browned on top.

Makes 8-10 servings

Can be frozen

* If you have xanthan gum, you can slightly thicken the sauce with the bonus that you won't need to reduce the sauce as much and will end up with more. After adding the cream, lightly dust xanthan gum over surface of sauce; quickly mix in. Repeat until you've mixed approximately 1/2-1 teaspoon xanthan gum into sauce. Simmer until the sauce has thickened.

Per 1/8 Recipe: 453 Calories; 34g Fat; 31g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

Per 1/10 Recipe: 362 Calories; 27g Fat; 25g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

VARIATION:

Omit the canned mushrooms and minced mushrooms and use 1/2 pound fresh, sliced mushrooms. SautÚ the mushrooms, celery and onion just until tender. Proceed as directed above, only reducing the sauce slightly, then thickening with 1/2-1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Mix all ingredients in baking pan. Bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Casserole can be assembled ahead of time and chilled; baking time remains the same.

This produced the best results I've had with this recipe so far and I will make it this way from now on. The sauce seemed more like the cream of chicken soup that is in the original high carb recipes I used to make. Carb counts remain the same. This makes a lot and has almost the same flavor as the non-lowcarb version that I used to make. Very tasty.

UPDATE: I wanted to mention how nice the xanthan gum made the sauce and how well it holds up to reheating. By using this to thicken the sauce, it makes for a much moister, saucier casserole because the sauce doesn't need to reduce as much to thicken it. If you can find xanthan gum, I recommend investing in it. I'm finding more and more uses for it and it takes so little that a bag will probably last forever.

UPDATE 4/1/12: Here's a tip for making diced cooked chicken to use in casseroles and other recipes that call for cooked chicken.