Cheesy Chicken
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.
Ingredients
- 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)
- 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
Instructions
- Cheese Sauce Instructions:
- 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.
- Casserole Instructions:
- 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.
