High-Brow Chicken Casserole

As we may or may not know, I do enjoy a casserole. It's funny, I used to turn my nose up to them growing up but now I recognize them for the cost-saving treasures they are. Also, they freeze and re-heat beautifully. This particular casserole is another wonderful creation from the Picky-Palate blog. It is what I like to call a classy casserole. You won't find any cream of mushroom soup here. It uses fresh ingredients and wild rice. It may be a little more involved than your average casserole but it's not too bad and it is delicious. In fact, I daresay I may consider serving this to company. Enjoy:

CHEESY CHICKEN CASSEROLE
3 tbsp. olive oil

1 Med. Onion finely diced

3 Carrots chopped

3 stalks of celery chopped

2 tbsp. minced garlic

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I get the Costco Rotisserie chicken)

2 cups steamed white rice (*see author's note at the bottom about cooking rice)

2 cups wild rice (Costco has a great blend)

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic salt (I like Lowrey's Garlic Salt with Parsley)

***cheese sauce***

4 tbsp. butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 black pepper

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups shredded cheese

Top with 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil into a medium-large sized sauce pan (you are going to be putting A LOT of stuff in this so go big). Saute vegetables until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, let cook 1 more minute. Add chicken and rices, salt, pepper, and garlic salt, mix well, turn heat to low.

2. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and then whisk in the flour. Add chicken broth, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until the sauce thickens and is about to boil. Add the cheese, salt and pepper, and stir until smooth. (I could eat this plain. It was that good). Pour the cheese sauce over the chicken and rice and stir to combine. Pour this into a 9X13 pan (use the biggest, deepest one you have, because this is A LOT of food). Cover with 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese and bake for 25-35 minutes, until hot all the way through.

Serves a small army. (8-10 hungry people)

* A note about rice. Maybe I'm just an idiot...but I could never figure out why my rice turned out gloppy and mushy. I did substantial research and field tests and I finally figured it out. Rice does best when left alone. Here is my process for perfect rice:

The general rule is 2 cups of water (or broth) to 1 cup dry rice and 1 tbsp of olive oil or butter.

Boil the water and butter/oil FIRST before adding the rice (many directions will tell you to add it all together and then bring to a boil. No good. Once the water is boiling, pour in the rice and RESIST THE URGE TO STIR. The stirring is generally what is responsible for making gross rice-porridge. I'm not a scientist but I'm reasonably confident it releases more starch when stirred making it mushy. Just pour it in, stir once if you must, put the lid on, reduce the heat to a simmer and set the timer for 30 minutes and leave it alone. Do not open the lid, do not stir it, just let it be. After 30 minutes, lift off the lid and check it. Sometimes the water is not totally absorbed and if this is the case, put the lid back on and let it sit in 5 minute increments until the water is absorbed. If the rice is tender but there is still water, you can drain the remaining water. Then lightly and gently fluff it with a fork. No mush guaranteed!