Comfort food and a one-dish dinner... great for leftover rotisserie chicken, too. I love brown basmati rice -- gives the dish a great flavor and cooks faster than regular brown rice -- but you can substitute white rice as well. Cheese sauce is so easy to make, and you can change the flavor by using a different (or blend) of cheese. Use stronger flavors of cheese, or the sauce will be bland.
1 pound cooked chicken breast (or a combination of white/dark meat if you're using leftover chicken)
2 cups uncooked brown basmati rice
2 carrots, sliced thinly or shredded
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Cheese Sauce (below)
1 package onion rings, cooked and chopped into smaller pieces (or one large can of French's French Fried Onions)
Cook rice according to package directions. Combine chicken breast, rice, carrots and broccoli in a large bowl and mix. Pour the cheese sauce over the rice mixture and mix until the cheese sauce covers everything evenly. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with onion rings and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Cheese Sauce
3 cups milk
6 Tbsp. butter
6 Tbsp. unbleached flour
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Melt butter in a 2-quart sauce pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour, pepper, cayenne and dry mustard, stirring to make a paste. Add the milk and stir constantly until the milk starts to boil. Boil for one minute, continuing to stir. Remove the pan from heat and gradually stir in the cheese a little at a time until the cheese is completely melted.
