Chicken and Rice is Very Nice

Chicken and rice was a staple in my home when I grew up. As a child I remember it being a delightful concoction of chicken, rice and mushroom soup. As we grew up and began to appreciate the finer things in life, my mom began adding peas, onions, mushrooms and the like. Interestingly enough, chicken and rice also made regular appearances in the childhood home of my husband. Whenever their version of the meal is served by his mother, he and his sisters break into this wacky song about how nice chicken and rice is .... hence the title of this post.

Needless to say, we have warmly welcomed this dish into our repertoire. Last week when I saw Taryn's Hamburger Wild-Rice Casserole, it reminded me of my fondness for chicken and rice so I decided to make it for dinner tonight. I will post the "usual" recipe, although, as you will see in the photos, tonight's version featured some different ingredients as I am attempting a pantry week (which I will post about later) and I didn't have all the ingredients.

Mumma's Chicken and Rice
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can mushroom pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 cups instant rice (uncooked)
2 cans mushroom soup
1 pkg onion soup mix

1. Cook and chop up about 3 cups of chicken. I usually make this with leftovers after I've roasted a whole chicken, however, you could use any type of chicken pieces and cook it specifically for the purpose. Tonight's dish feature chopped turkey from my awesome turkey deal a few weeks ago.

2. Saute the onion. celery, mushrooms, peas and garlic until soft. Add almonds and cook another 5 minutes. **Tonight I used onion, celery, garlic, frozen green beans, frozen corn and almonds. I had no mushrooms (sadness) or peas. Asparagus would also be yummy.

3. In a large measuring cup, mix together two cans of mushroom soup, a package of onion soup mix, and enough water to bring the liquid to about 4 cups. **(If you want to use just one can of soup, reduce the rice to 1 cup). Stir together.

4. Add soup mixture to sauteed veggies, stir to mix.

5. In a 9x 13, place the instant rice (uncooked). Top with chopped chicken. Pour soup over.

6. Cover and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Enjoy!