I am happy to say that today I am feeling much better even than I did yesterday. I got a good night's sleep which has made all the difference in the world, and whilst I am still tired, body-wise, I am not so tired mentally and so today I decided to make myself a cooked dinner.
Oh, I have been cooking a bit, but nothing blog worthy. Simple grilled chicken. Boiled rice. Salad. Toast. Applesauce. That's basically what I have been eating all week.
I actually cooked several large chicken breasts on Monday and a quantity of rice and have been feeding off it ever since.
Today I felt like doing a bit more and was a bit hungrier. I did still have some cooked chicken breast to use up, but I wanted to do something more with it than I have been.
I found this recipe on a blog called Cooktoria which looked quite interesting. Simple and yet delicious. It was along the same chicken and rice line as I have been eating but with a few additional flavors and differences.
I adapted it for my own use and purposes in several ways. I think I actually simplified it a great deal and yet managed to keep all of the flavors of the original.
First I used cooked chicken. They had chopped up chicken thighs and cooked them in some oil. I cut out that step altogether. I already had cooked chicken, which was nicely seasoned. I simply cut it into small cubes.
They also cooked their carrots and onions first, along with the chicken. I really didn't see the need for that. I just chopped the onion finely, grated the carrot and added it in with the chicken.
Everything just got stirred together in the casserole dish, covered tightly, and baked. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. It doesn't get much simpler than that.
I also cut the amounts of everything in half to make only two servings rather than four.
I was able to cut down on the prep time and the cook time because of these changes. It was basically ready to eat in about half an hour and, as you can see, the rice was cooked beautifully. Nice and fluffy.
It was so simple and so tasty, I know it is something I will undoubtedly make again. Quick, easy and delicious with a minimum of effort. You can't beat it!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHICKEN RICE CASSEROLE (for two)
Simple ingredients and not that many of them.
1 cooked chicken breast, cut into bite sized cubes
1/2 cup (105g) Basmati rice, uncooked
1/2 small onion, peeled and minced
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup (240ml) hot, good quality, chicken stock/broth
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning
pinch turmeric
salt and black pepper to taste
My chicken breast had been rubbed with a basic rub and grilled. I did two of them on Monday and they were of a fair size. One of these was more than ample for this casserole.
This is the seasoning rub that I had used. It was a bit spicy.
The stock that I use is Better Than Bullion chicken stock. It comes in a small jar and is organic. I like the flavor of it.
Because my chicken was already highly seasoned, I did not add any additional chicken seasoning. I just added a bit of salt and pepper.
My onion was chopped very finely and my carrot grated on the large holes of a box grater. If you wanted to you could add more vegetables to this. I pondered adding some chopped or grated zucchini and I think when I make it again I will. It would add even more color.
You could add some frozen peas, or frozen corn, or even chopped broccoli. I think all would work very well.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN RICE CASSEROLE (for two)
I don't think that dinner gets much easier than this simplified version.
Preheat the oven to 450*F/230*C/ gas mark 7. Butter a smallish casserole dish. (mine was about the size of a loaf tin.)
Prepare your vegetables. Place them into the casserole dish along with the chicken and the rice.
Whisk the stock together with the seasonings and turmeric. Pour this over top of the chicken, rice and vegetables. Stir everything together to combine well.
Cover tightly with some aluminum foil or the casserole lid. Bake, covered, for 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven, fluff with a fork and serve immediately. A salad goes very nicely on the side.
This was a very simple casserole. Not saucy like most. More like a chicken pilaf. If you wanted to you could serve it with some sauce on the side. Something sweet would be nice, like a plum sauce or a chutney.
I enjoyed some salad with mine. I went old school and drizzled it with English Salad Cream. I enjoyed this simple meal very much!
If you are a fan of the chicken casserole, you might also enjoy the following:
GRANDMA'S CHINESE CHICKEN CASSEROLE- I am pretty sure my own grandmother would have never baked this delicious casserole. They were very simple country folk, but if you had a grandmother who did, you were very lucky indeed! A great store cupboard casserole with plenty of chicken, crispy vegetables, rice, cashews and a crispy chow mien noodle topping!
CRACKED OUT CHICKEN TATER TOT CASSEROLE - What you have here is a delicious casserole, perfectly sized for the smaller family, jammed with plenty of chicken, bacon, cheese, green beans (to be healthy 😁) and a few other odds and sods, topped with delicious brown tater tots and more cheese. Delicious, delicious, delicious.
Yield: 2
Author: Marie Rayner
Chicken Rice Casserole (for two)
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
This easy chicken and rice casserole is delicious. A few simple ingredients put together in a simple and very tasty way!
Ingredients
1 cooked chicken breast, cut into bite sized cubes
1/2 cup (105g) Basmati rice, uncooked
1/2 small onion, peeled and minced
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup (240ml) hot, good quality, chicken stock/broth
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning
pinch turmeric
salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450*F/230*C/ gas mark 7. Butter a smallish casserole dish. (mine was about the size of a loaf tin.)
Prepare your vegetables. Place them into the casserole dish along with the chicken and the rice.
Whisk the stock together with the seasonings and turmeric. Pour this over top of the chicken, rice and vegetables. Stir everything together to combine well.
Cover tightly with some aluminum foil or the casserole lid. Bake, covered, for 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven, fluff with a fork and serve immediately. A salad goes very nicely on the side.
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Thanks so much for your understanding! I appreciate you!
Good morning. Thank you for this recipe. My cardiologist has given me strict eating instructions and this casserole would suit it perfectly.
ReplyDeleteSo very glad you are on the mend! THis looks like good comfort food!
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