Dandelion's Chicken Casserole

This may come as a surprise to those of you who think of me as Martha Stewart’s younger, cuter and much fancier sister, but sometimes, I just don’t want dinner to be a big hassle. I haven’t really been feeling well for a couple of days, so Wendy’s™ has been doing most of the cooking around here. Tonight I was looking for a meal that met the following basic requirements:

1. did not require a lot of fussing over or babysitting.
2. only used one or two pans.
3. would be hot and comforting without clogging any arteries.
4. did not come from a drive thru.

The answer came in the form, of course, of a casserole. Casseroles can be dangerous territory, as most traditional casserole recipes involve cramming as many fat grams and calories per square inch into a casserole dish as humanly possible. I suppose that’s fine if you’re Amish or a lumberjack or have some other extremely physically demanding job or a very hefty life insurance policy, none of which apply to me. So what follows is my easy interpretation of chicken casserole. This is a versatile recipe that has lots of room for variation and improvisation based on what you have lying around in your freezer/pantry. I used 98% fat free cream of chicken and cream of celery soup, California blend vegetables (broccoli, carrots and cauliflower), and a brown/wild rice blend topped with about ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Dandelion’s Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1.5 lb.), cubed
• 1 tbsp. oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups uncooked rice of your choice – not instant
• 2 cans of “cream of” soup of your choice (cream of chicken and cream of celery, for example)
• 2 cups water
• 12 oz. package of frozen vegetables
• Cheese or bread crumbs for topping, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a large casserole dish or 13 x 9 inch pan.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the chicken until browned, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Chicken does not need to be completely cooked through at this stage.
3. Combine soups and water. Mix in rice. Pour into prepared casserole.
4. Pour frozen vegetables over the rice mixture. Top with browned chicken.
5. Seal tightly with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.
6. Remove foil and top with cheese, breadcrumbs, French fried onions, or other topping as desired, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until browned and all liquid is absorbed.

Makes 6 servings.