Cozy Chicken and Rice Casserole from @KorinaMossAuthor

KORINA MOSS: November calls for cozy casseroles. Here's an easy chicken and rice bake that's the ultimate comfort food. You can swap out the vegetables I use for the ones you like best. This could also be made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. This casserole keeps well in the fridge for several days of leftovers, which is one of my favorite things about it. 

Ingredients:

4 TBL butter, divided

3 TBL flour

pinch of dried thyme or seasonings of your choice. I used Mrs. Dash onion & herb and Mrs. Dash original.

1 cup chicken broth or stock (you can use unsalted)

1 cup milk

1+ cups of cooked & seasoned chicken, diced 

1 cup cooked white or brown rice

Vegetables of your choosing. Mine are thawed string beans, fresh mushrooms, diced onions, corn. You're going to use a 9x9 dish, so cut as many or few vegetables as you'd like.

1 TBL dry seasoned breadcrumbs (you can use salt free)

1 TBL grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

(Make sure you cook the rice and cook and season chicken to your liking.)

Preheat oven to 400°

Melt 3 TBL butter in saucepan over medium heat. 

Whisk in flour and thyme/seasoning and cook for 1 minute to make a roux. 

Gradually stir in broth and milk, stirring until thick and smooth.

Stir in cooked chicken, add salt & pepper. Set aside.

Grease a 9x9 baking dish.

Pour a thin layer of the cream sauce on the bottom. 

Spread cooked rice on the bottom of the dish. 

Add vegetables evenly over rice. 

Pour the rest of the cream sauce with chicken mixture evenly over the dish. 

Dot with remaining TBL of butter.

Mix together bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle evenly over top of mixture. 

Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes until it's hot and bubbly. Enjoy! If having leftovers, reheat in microwave.

Readers: Today is Veteran's Day. To all veterans, I'd like to thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your bravery. If you know a veteran, please give them a shout-out in the comments below. 

 

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KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series set in Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner of the Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead and the finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Her books have been featured in USA Today, PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World Magazine, AARP Magazine, and Fresh Fiction. 

For the past several years, Korina has been on her own Eat, Pray, Love journey, which seems to have stalled at the Eat phase. When not writing or sampling new cheeses (a perk of the job), she can be found with a new favorite cozy, doing jigsaw puzzles, or discovering new travel destinations. She has an affinity (some might say addiction) to coffee mugs, loves cats, and can't pass up a new notebook or journal with all those fresh, empty pages. 

The Cheese Shop Mystery series is available wherever books are sold. To find out more and subscribe to my FREE monthly newsletter, visit my website and follow me on Facebook and Instagram.