We had quite a bit of snow this past few days.
Schools were closed and kids were home. Even my husband was home due to the bad weather. When the weather goes bad, and eating out is not an option, I need to come-up with something to feed hungry people in my family. They could easily fix their own ham and cheese sandwich, but returning home with frozen body after playing hard in the snow outside, I feel like I better feed them something more soothing and satisfying. What a thoughtful mother and wife I am? Ha ha ha!
So I made this Chicken and Rice Casserole for lunch. With pieces of boned chicken thighs and drumsticks, mushrooms, onion, carrot, celery, chicken stock, cream and a few sprigs of fresh thyme (or dried), I was able to make a satisfying one dish meal in a skillet.
Kids loved it, hubby loved it, and I did too.
I have to admit that I sometimes make casseroles with one of those canned soup just because I was too lazy to make from scratch. However making a delicious casserole from scratch is not overly complicated or time consuming. The flavor of this casserole is outstanding; creamy and savory. It can be easily adapted with whatever vegetables you have in your fridge.
I bet casserole is most mom’s favorite dish to cook. Because you don’t need to worry about any side dishes to go with and the clean up is a breeze afterward. How sweet?
Soak the white rice in water for 20 minutes and drain well.
Meanwhile season your chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
Boned chicken thighs and drumsticks is better option than breasts. Breasts can dry up easily after a long cooking in the oven.
Brown the chicken in olive oil, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
While you are browning the chicken, chop up the holy trinity of vegetables; onion, celery, and carrot. Mince a couple cloves of garlic, and slice mushrooms, too. Set them aside.
In a same skillet where you browned the chicken, saute mushrooms for 1 minute, add white wine or chicken stock and have it evaporated. Transfer the mushrooms to another plate.
Add butter…
and saute the vegetables and garlic for 3-4 minutes.
Add the rice and saute another 2 minutes.
Return the mushroom to the skillet and pour the chicken stock. Remove the skillet from the heat
Well, right at this moment the phone rang, and I went to answer…
When I returned to my skillet a few minutes later… Well, the rice had soaked up the stock as you can see. But that’s okay. Add the cream,
and the fresh thyme. You can certainly use dried thyme as well.
Return your chicken pieces to top on the mixture. Cover with foil tightly and bake in the preheated 375 degree F oven for 45 minutes.
When done, look how creamy the short grain rice looks! The texture is almost like risotto; very creamy and tender, yet chewy.
A satisfying meal made with love.., they better appreciate the cook who made the perfect dish for them.
It seems like this winter is lasting longer than I hoped for. Can’t wait for a beautiful spring.
This recipe is adapted from chow.com
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cup short grain white rice
- 4 bone-in chicken thigh
- 4 drumsticks
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 package (8 oz) button or crimini mushrooms
- 1/4 cup white wine or chicken stock
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup heavy or light cream
- 4-5 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Directions
- Rinse the rice in water several times and soak in water for 20 minutes, drain and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Heat olive oil in a skillet over med-low heat, brown the chicken until golden on both sides, about 5-6 minutes on each side. Transfer to another plate and set aside. If there is too much grease in a skillet wipe out with a paper towel.
- In a same skillet saute the mushrooms for 1 minute and splash with wine (or stock) and let it reduced. Transfer the mushroom to another plate as well.
- Melt the butter in the skillet and saute the onion, carrot, celery and garlic for 3-4 minutes until slightly soften.
- Add the rice and saute 2 more minutes. Pour the chicken stock and cream, add the thyme and stir. Return the chicken pieces to top and cover the skillet with foil tightly. (if your skillet is nor oven proof, transfer the rice mixture to a casserole pan and top with chicken)
- Bake the casserole for 45 minutes, and serve hot.
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