Leftover Chicken

Okay, for real. Last night I made a rice casserole from the leftover chicken from my Chicken in Milk recipe from last time. It was the best chicken and rice bake EVER.

And I've made a few rice bakes in my time. If you never follow any other advise but this, you'll always have amazing rice bakes: never use canned cream of mushroom soup. Homemade gravy/sauce is SO easy to make, and tastes so much more unique and fresh. Obviously, I still think canned cream of mushroom has it's uses, but if you're trying to make something that actually tastes different than every other casserole that was ever made? Yeah... And all you need to make your own mushroom sauce is regular milk, flour, butter, mushrooms, and broth. (Sometimes I use boullion and water instead of broth to save even more money.)

Here's what you gotta do:

1. Start your rice. I used chicken broth instead of water in the rice; it's the easiest way to get yummy rice without rice-a-roni. I used 1 1/2 cups of uncooked rice, and 3 cups of broth (I used half broth and half water sometimes when I want to be frugal). Cook for like 20 minutes ish.
2. While the rice is cooking, saute up some chopped onion and mushrooms in a tablespoon on olive oil. Salt and pepper. I didn't add any other seasoning to this (like garlic or oregano) because the chicken was so flavorful. 
3. After the vegetables are done cooking, make a roux. That means you add a few tablespoons of butter to the frying pan and melt it down, then add an equal amount of flour. Stirring briskly till it's all dissolved. If you want thicker sauce, add more flour to the butter.
4. You cook that for a minute or two until the floury taste is gone (chefs say it smells "nutty" but whatever). 
5. Add a cup or two of broth and a cup or two of milk. I didn't really measure this. I just sort of added as much liquid as I wanted. Add more if you want more sauce.
6. Bring to a boil and stir until it thickens. Add the chicken and reseason to taste.
7. Combine the sauce and rice in a baking dish, and cover with cheese.
8. Bake at 375 for like 15-20 minutes.

I served it with fresh green beans and it was seriously delicious. The chicken had a leftover sage, lemon, and garlic flavor, that went perfectly with the creamy sauce and mushrooms. 

I'm also eating some leftover chicken sandwiches--I had some yesterday and I'm having more today. This chicken is so good!