Chicken, Mushroom, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole

Chicken, Mushroom, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole:

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Farmhouse Long Grain & Wild Rice (or your favorite brand), prepared per instructions
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1 lb mushrooms quartered
• 1 stalk of celery diced
• 1 cup of broccoli florets
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed (I use leftover roasted chicken meat)
• 1 (10 3/4 oz) can of Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 (10 3/4 oz) can of Cream of Celery soup
• 1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise, to taste
• 1 (6 oz) can of sliced water chestnuts, drained & diced
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Topping Ingredient Options (optional): 

• Crispy fried onions
• Ritz crackers, crushed
• Panko crumbs

How to Make a Chicken, Mushroom, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the box of rice per package instructions; set aside to cool until needed.

In a large skillet add 1/2 tbsp oil and cook mushrooms until golden brown; remove from pan and set aside until needed.

Add the other 1/2 tbsp of oil to the skillet and cook onions and celery, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes.

Using a steamer, steam broccoli until just fork tender, then cool.

In a large bowl, combine the rice, mushrooms, onion, celery, broccoli, chicken, cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, mayonnaise, water chestnuts, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, together and mix well.

Pour into a baking dish and heat uncovered for 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes prior to serving. Enjoy.

Side Note: For added decadence and/or texture, add some French’s crispy fried onions, crushed Ritz crackers, or panko crumbs on top of the casserole after the first 15 minutes of baking. Continue baking for the remaining 15 minutes.