Everyday Broccoli Cheese Chicken

Some weeknights call for fancy. Most call for this: chicken breasts browned in a skillet, then simmered in a can of broccoli cheese soup with fresh florets thrown in at the end. Old-school, sure, but the kind of dinner that gets dinner on the table without thinking too hard.

The trick is browning the chicken breast properly before the soup hits the pan. Ten minutes over medium heat, both sides golden. That fond on the bottom melts into the sauce when you stir in the soup and water, and that’s where the flavor lives. Skip the browning and you’ve got beige chicken in beige sauce. Use milk in place of water if you want a richer pan sauce.

The broccoli goes in last so it stays bright green with a little snap, not olive-drab mush. Ten minutes covered is plenty.

Kitchen Tips

• Pound the chicken breasts to even thickness before browning so they cook through at the same rate.
• Don’t skim too aggressively after browning; a little fat in the sauce keeps it glossy.
• If the sauce looks thick after simmering, splash in extra milk or water to loosen.
• Salt at the end, the soup brings plenty already.

Variations

• Stir in a handful of shredded sharp cheddar at the end for a deeper cheese pull.
• Swap broccoli for cauliflower florets, or use a frozen mix.
• Finish with a squeeze of lemon and cracked black pepper to wake the whole thing up.