Chicken Casserole

This is based on the classic recipe my mom always made for people when they were recovering from surgery or just had a new baby. It's my go-to comfort food, especially when the weather gets cold.

I have altered it to remove the cream of chicken soup, and instead use sour cream. I also use brown rice but white rice is in the original, and usually use chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken because I keep those on hand. This recipe is gluten-free as long as you leave off the breadcrumb topping.

Chicken Casserole

2-3 Chicken breasts, cooked and chopped*
2-3 boiled Eggs, chopped
1 small Onion, chopped
1 cup Chicken Broth (if you boil the chicken breasts, just cook the leftover water down and use this)
2/3 cup Sour Cream
3 cups Rice, cooked (any kind is fine, and mixing types is great too)
1/2 tbsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
2/3 cup Mayo

Topping (optional)
4 tbsp Butter
1 cup Breadcrumbs 

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and pour into 13x9 pan. Bake at 400* for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

* The easiest way to cook chicken breasts is in an electric pressure cooker like an Instant Pot. I'll never boil chicken again! I put frozen chicken breasts in with about half a cup of water, pushed the "Poultry" button and in 15 minutes they were cooked perfectly.

Shredding hot cooked chicken is easier than chopping it, using an electric mixer. I describe how to do that here.

Hardboiled eggs get the Instant Pot treatment now, too! Set your eggs on the IP rack, add a cup of water. Seal and cook under pressure for 5 minutes, NPR 5 minutes, then release. Your eggs will be perfectly cooked and easy to peel.

Jasmine Rice

 

There is a restaurant in South Carolina called Yamato.  It's a hibachi restaurant but I haven't found another hibachi restaurant that is as good, though many come close.  The last time we went, we paid careful attention to how they cook the rice because it is SO GOOD.  We watched as they heaped some butter on it and light fried it on the grill.  That was it.  

Jasmine Rice

Cook rice as you usually would.  For us this means in a rice maker.  Prepare wok while rice is cooking by lightly spraying it with cooking spray.  As soon as the rice is done, transfer to wok and drop 2-3 Tbsp butter on top (more or less depending on how much rice you made.  You can add more if needed).  Stir fry the rice for a few minutes until it turns a light gold color, then pour into a serving dish.

Here is the full meal we usually serve: Bulgogi, Sesame Green Beans and Jasmine Rice.