London, Kentucky

Great! A few options: leave off the topping and drench in fresh white/cream sauce you made from scratch. Also, if you don't have leftover chick, just drain two cans of all white meat or mixed chicken. Add pimientos for color and a new dimension in the taste.

This is VERY close to a recipe I used to make and have been searching for-- with the following changes: 1) instead of cooking fresh onion, dried chopped onion can be substituted (the liquids in the dish will reconstitue it,) 2) instead of cream of mush, use cream of celery soup, 3) lose all that salt and just use a little garlic powder, plus a dash or two of worcestershire instead of the lemon juice, and, 4) top with crushed cheez-its instead of Ritz-- the extra cheddar crunch gives the entire dish a great zing (go crazy-- tabasco cheez-its are expecially good.) No need to top with butter, the topping will brown nicely enough. You can adjust the fat content by eliminating the butter and using low-fat soup. I also use the canola Hellman's with no cholesterol. Ditching the salt brings the sodium content down to next-to-nothing, even with the modicum of worcestershire. When all is said and done, what you're really making here is a custard-- that's why you mix the soup, eggs, and mayo together and then fold in the broccoli and the cheese. It should never be runny. The entire casserole can be assembled the day before and refrigerated, then the topping added right before cooking. Enjoy!