Broccoli Chicken,Mushroom & Pasta casserole

Manasi was going for the progressive supper,a yearly youth group event held by the Congregational Church  for the MSYG and YG and I had volunteered to make broccoli ,chicken,mushroom casserole entree for 20 kids. It is a three course dinner and parents volunteer to make appetizers,entrees and desserts along with giving rides to all  kids from the church to  the three house's where they go for the respective three course dinner. Everyone loved the casserole .

 I had to share it with all here ,even though I did not get to try it , I can take Manasi's final verdict  on this, as she  is - The food critique in the Bhagia house hold :) She could not stop raving about the buttery garlicky aroma  while  the casserole was cooking in the oven. The bread crumbs roasted with garlic and parsley were enough to arouse an intoxicating greed and the white sauce rich with  butter ,cheddar,egg yolk and black pepper, was ummm being savored by spoonfuls while it was still cooking in the pan. I had to finally shoo her away from the kitchen so that I had  enough to pour on the casserole. It is sad as I could not serve this on a plate and show you the layers of colors and the rich texture of the sauce as I had to send the casserole.But you have my  my word on  this one-As Manasi puts it , " Simply -The best caserole".!!!

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
Broccoli:  Roughly1 pound florets
Chicken breast: roughly 1 pound, cut into thin strips and boiled till it becomes white.
Cooked elbow pasta: 2 cups
sliced mushrooms boiled in the microwave for 3 minutes: 2 cups
Garlic: 4 cloves crushed
Crushed peppercorn or paprika: To your taste
Bread crumbs: 1 cup
Italian style bread crumbs: 1 cup
Parsley: 2 tbsp
Olive Oil: 1 tbsp
Unsalted Butter: 1 tbsp

For the sauce:
Butter Unsalted : 3 tbsp
all purpose flour: 3 tbsp
Sharp Cheddar cheese: 1 cup
Milk: 1 1/2 cup
Salt: To your taste
Egg yolk: 1

Method for the sauce:

Take a pan and add 3 tbsp butter and add the 3 tbsp flour to it and cook for 4-5 minutes. Now add the milk gradually stirring constantly to avoid lumps.  The consistency has to be  thick and make sure there are no lumps .the sauce should be smooth and thick like the pancake batter. Now take some liquid from this and mix the egg yolk to this and beat well.Then add this to the rest of the sauce. Now add the cheddar cheese and continue to cook on low flame till it has acquired the desired consistency of a thick pancake batter. Turn off the flame and let this sit while you prepare the casserole.

The sauce should be thick and easy pouring consistency

Now take a baking dish and add 1 tbsp of olive oil along with 1 tbsp of unsalted butter and stick it in the oven along with 4 crushed garlic for roughly 2 minutes or till the garlic starts to make the sizzling sound in the butter. Remove it from the oven and add 1 cup bread crumbs along with 2 tbsp parsley and stick it in the oven for 1 more minute. Now scoop this mixture out and spread it on a wax paper to be used later.

Take the baking dish and spread the cooked chicken strips.

Now take the broccoli florets and boil them in hot water till tender and quickly rinse them in cold water,to retain the green color. Now spread a layer of these on the chicken pieces.

Now spread the 2 cups cooked pasta on the  broccoli.

Top this with boiled mushrooms,then pour the sauce and complete this  topping with Parmesan cheese and the roasted breadcrumbs with garlic and parsley.

Bake this at 350 degree F on the third shelf for 15 to 20 minutes or till the top starts to turn a golden brown color.

Notes: you can add paprika or crushed peppercorn on the sauce before adding the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. It gives a nice kick to the casserole :)
After boiling the chicken ,you can save the stock for later use.