Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups cooked chicken, boneless, skinless, shredded meat. I recommend poached breast meat or leftover baked, pan-fried, or grilled chicken
• 1 10.5 ounce can of condensed cream of chicken soup
• 3/4 cup milk, half and half, whole or 2%
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced. Poach along with chicken or stir in rice mixture before baking.
• 3/4 cup button or cremini mushrooms, wipe clean with a damp paper towel and slice. Quickly saute’ in olive oil 4 minutes for added flavor if desired.
• 2 teaspoons butter cut into pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder or 1/4 cup chopped white onions. Saute’ with the mushrooms if desired.

Directions

1. Prepare the Chicken: Prepare leftover meat by removing skin, bones, and cartilage or poach fresh chicken until done and shred meat using two forks.
2. Prepare the Rice: In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked rice, vegs, chicken, and seasonings. Stir together with a wooden spoon until combined.
3. Combine soup mix: Stir or whisk together the soup mix and milk. Pour over the rice and combine the mixture.
4. Bake: Pour the rice mixture into an 8-inch glass baking dish. Spread rice to the edges and smooth the top. Add pieces of butter to the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow casserole to rest at least 5 minutes prior to uncovering.
5. Garnish and Serve: Garnish the casserole with fresh chopped parsley leaves, chives, thyme, or scallions as desired and serve. Cover leftovers, date, and refrigerate. Eat within three days.

Notes

Feel free to customize this casserole with your favorite veggies. A can of drained green beans or English peas would make excellent additions.
* Cremini mushrooms are baby portabella mushrooms. Either one works well in this recipe. Remove gills from the portabellas and chop them to bite-sized bits for the recipe.

To make this recipe Vegetarian, trade out Condensed Cream of Chicken soup with Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup and use Tempeh or tofu to replace chicken. Lightly pan fry the meat substitute for a few minutes until toasty prior to stirring into the rice mixture.
Replace the thyme with 1 Tablespoon of curry powder and stir in 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder or 2 teaspoons of Sriracha garlic hot sauce for a new flavorful casserole.

ALLERGY ALERT: This recipe uses dairy milk and cream-based soup mix for the creamy texture.