Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

The picture in the pin where I found this recipe looked much more appetizing then mine.  For whatever reason, my pictures never look that cool.  Maybe it's the fact that I don't have a nice camera, that I don't have fancy dishes or garnish my food, perhaps it is because I do not possess the skill of being a photographer.  But the purpose of this blog is for me to catalog my favorite recipes so I can search for them quickly instead of scrolling through my pinterest board for 10 minutes because I keep skipping it.  And this way I can also keep track of changes I made or disasters I had.

So without further ado, here it is!  (And as a head note, 4.9 stars, I went back for seconds even!  And I NEVER go back for seconds.  I am on a very strict 1250 calories a day diet.  Seconds do not make their way into a diet like that.)

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole (say that 5 times fast)

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced (omitted)

3 stalks celery, finely diced (omitted)

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic 

2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken breast

2 Cups steamed white rice (I used brown rice)

16 oz prepared wild rice (I used a box of Uncle Ben's and it says 6 oz on the box.  Not sure if that means it is 6 oz BEFORE it's cooked?  Cuz when it's done there is more like 2 cups, which would be 16 oz).

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

______

Cheese Sauce (I halved this)

4 Tablespoons butter

1/4 Cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 Cups chicken broth

2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

Top with 1 1/2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

0.  There should really be a prestep.  It took me awhile to figure out what was going on when I started this.  So, for those of us who are a little slow...  Boil and shred chicken.  Make white/brown rice.  Prepare wild rice according to instructions on the box.

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat.  Saute onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Reduce heat to low.

2.  To prepare cheese sauce melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously.  Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted.  Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through.  Serve.

8-10 servings

Absolutely delicious!