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| No Cans Chicken and Rice |
Have you ever used a can of condensed soup? If you live in the South you know those cans of creamy goo are the basis of almost every cheese and cracker topped casserole recipe in existence. Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners would consist of little else other than turkey if it weren't for the goopy stuff and just forget about Sunday pot-lucks after church. So needless to say when I decided to eliminate almost all canned items from my diet, especially ones full of contents I could neither pronounce nor decipher their origins, condensed soup was at the top of my "Do Not Buy Again" list. (FYI-My grocery lists tend to have addendums and my "Do Not Buy Again" list is one such addendum.) With those cans off the purchase list, I wondered just how in the world would I ever make a casserole again? After a few trial runs, I soon realized my fears of never making another creamy, cheesy comfort food were completely unfounded. I haven't purchased a can of condensed soup in years and have yet to miss cooking with it. I hope this simple recipe for "No Cans Chicken and Rice" is an incentive to chunk the condensed soup in your pantry and remove it from your "Things To Buy" list and delve into another area of cleaning up your diet and ridding it of all those preservatives and whatever else all those words on the back of said cans mean. Seriously, read the back of the cans if you still need more incentive.
No Cans Chicken and Rice
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1/4 cup uncooked wild rice
2 1/2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts boiled, shredded
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tbs Smart Balance or butter
1 cup 1% milk
salt and pepper to taste
poultry seasoning to taste (optional)
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (optional mix-in)
Heat water to boil and add rice. Stir, return to boil, reduce heat and simmer per instructions on packaging. I usually subtract 5 mins from the time for a chewier rice consistency. Once rice is done, add chicken, cheese, butter and milk. Stir and continue to simmer until creamy. Add seasoning and any mix-ins. Serve from stove top or pour into casserole dish, top with additional cheese and bake until melted. Serves 4.
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| This is the rice I used |
-If you like a creamier dish, adjust the butter, cheese and milk accordingly. This recipe still has a creaminess to it without extra calories.
-You can also omit the wild rice if your kids are like my nephews and won't eat "the black things".
-I always serve this with peas and carrots, yum!
-I always serve this with peas and carrots, yum!
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Your Mom will be so proud. Totally agree with the condensed soup goo that they fed us forever. Can't take it, and don't use it myself. We actually make our own Cream Of Mushroom soup (in a condensed version) for our Green Bean Casserole at the holidays. At first, I thought this is going to be way too much trouble, but now I wouldn't eat it any other way.
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