Chicken and Rice Casserole With a Kick
Great for large gatherings
My husband, Danny and I started playing around with some ingredients one day as we just love to invent recipes of our own. We wanted a variation of a chicken and rice casserole that was different and we just love the Zattarain's brand rices. After trying this several different ways, we finally came up with the version that we both loved the best and I would like to share it with all the hubbers!
Ingredients:
4 leg quarters (boiled and deboned) 2 boxes Zattarain's Yellow Rice (cooked as directed)
1- 26 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 -10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes (can choose hot or mild)
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper (if desired)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
After rice is cooked, pour into a 9" x 13" or larger casserole dish. Add soup, Rotel and water. Whisk together until well blended. Add the rice and blend well. Add deboned chicken and stir. Salt and pepper, if desired, to taste. Bake in oven for 10 minutes.
This is a good recipe that can easily be doubled if you have a family reunion or other type of gathering. There are also many additions and variations you can try with it as well. Some of the things we like to add include: diced green and red peppers, onions, celery, jalapenos, pimentos and black olives. It is also good made with diced beef if you aren't a big chicken fan or you can use white meat chicken if you prefer. You can vary the spiciness of the recipe by using the mild or hot Rotel. If you are extremely bold, you can add 2 cans of the hot Rotel. However, if you add 2 cans Rotel, reduce the water to 1/4 cup. I do love this variation as well since I like to eat things hot enough to boil my taste-buds off! (That's why I like to add the jalapenos, too!)
This mixture should be very soupy before putting it into the oven but the rice soaks up the juices as it bakes and sits for a while. You can also make this up a day in advance and not bake it. Just refrigerate, take out the next day, let it stand for an hour or so to reach room temperature and then pop it in the oven as directed. As for the leftovers, simply add a touch of water before reheating and you are good to go!
