Cooks 1 - Chicken Rice Casserole

So here we go. The first cooks entry. Let me say last night was such a joy sitting in the kitchen chatting with my honey and making a delicious meal for the two of us. Nothing is better than cooking a nice meal for someone who truly appreciates the effort. It was such a nice event.

Recipe tried: CHICKEN RICE CASSEROLE
** Recipe obtained by allrecipes.com -- submitted by Linda Durnil
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 (way more)


Ingredients
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
2 cups cooked rice
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts
1 (4.5 oz) jar sliced mushrooms
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup crushed saltines
1 tbsp butter or margarine


Directions:
In a bowl, combine first 10 ingredients. Transfer to a greased 2- 2 1/2 qt baking dish. Combine the cracker crumbs and butter; sprinkle over the top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.

My changes and thoughts:
I did not add the celery but will next time. I added 1 cup of frozen broccoli pieces instead. I used cream of mushroom soup, and 5 oz can of water chestnuts (I didn't know if I liked these), I used a normal 7 oz. can of mushroom pieces, and I doubled the saltine crumbs mixture. I also used Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise (because it is what I already had).

After eating this very tasty meal, Andy informed me that I could add it to the cookbook and it rated right up there with my baked spaghetti (which is his absolute favorite meal I cook!). This meal was very tasty, and left you full but not feeling tired or over stuffed. It was suggested that the water chestnuts could be chopped up or quartered to mix the textures better. For the two of us this recipe could have easily been cut in half. There were A LOT of left overs.

If you omitted the chicken this would be a great side dish for another meal, such as steak or pork chops. It just had a really great flavor!

Also for those of you that don't like a lot of clean up, this pan cleaned up very nicely. I let it soak for a little while in some water and it was practically spotless. This is definitely a recipe that my home will be using more often. This was a great way to start the cooks and books challenge!

Up coming recipes!

Spaghetti with Broccoli and Mushrooms
BBQ Pulled Pork