Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

This started out as Chicken & Rice Casserole but morphed into Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole during its preparation.  I intended to put a little bit of cheese in here, but I ended up putting in a lot of cheese.  Oops.  I could call this a mistake but I would be lying... this was more of a result of me cooking while extremely hungry when the five kinds of cheese in my refrigerator all sounded really good.

At least there's a bunch of vegetables in here.  Plus they're green.  They really do help break up the cheesiness.
This is a one pan, one bowl kind of recipe which I appreciate.  Actually that's not true - you do have to cook the rice which is another pot.  However, the chicken is browned, the veggies are cooked and the sauce is made all in the same skillet so that will save you a few dishes.

I used a big mix of cheeses in here... Goat, American, Monterey Jack, Swiss and Parmesan.  This happened to be what was leftover from other uses in small baggies in my fridge.  I really think you can use whatever cheese you want here...  the goat is tart and creamy but you could put in a little cream cheese... the American is nice and melty but you could substitute cheddar... the Parmesan is sharp and salty but Pecorino is a good alternative.  Mix it up, clean out your fridge, do whatever you want.

This turned out pretty great even if I went overboard on the cheese.  I really like the mix of cheeses because you get the best each have to offer.  The vegetables are a great counter balance to the cheese's richness, especially the bitter spinach and asparagus.

CA was a big fan as well, although if you put cheese on anything, Captain America likes it.

Cheese Chicken & Rice Casserole
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 cups cooked Brown Rice (1/2 cup dry)
10 oz. Chicken, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 T Olive Oil
1/2 cup diced Onion
1 Zucchini, chopped
1 cup chopped Asparagus (20 stalks)
3 cups Spinach
1 T Butter
2 T Flour
1 cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth
2 T Sour Cream
5 oz. Cheese, grated or chopped (I used a mix of Goat, American, Monterey Jack, Parmesan and Swiss)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put the cooked rice in a large bowl.

Brown the chicken in a non-stick skillet until cooked through.  Add cooked chicken to the bowl.

Add olive oil to the same non-stick skillet.  Add onions, zucchini and asparagus.  Saute 5 minutes.  Add spinach, saute an additional 3 minutes.  Add cooked vegetables to the bowl.

Melt the butter in the same non-stick skillet.  Add flour and cook 2 minutes.  Add broth slowly, stirring constantly.  Cook, stirring often, until thick, about 20 minutes.  Stir in sour cream.  Add sauce to the bowl.

Add cheese, salt and pepper to the bowl and mix everything together.  Place the mixture in a casserole dish.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Turn on the oven's broiler and broil for 5 minutes until the top is slightly browned.


Enjoy!
Julie