Heirloom Chicken and Rice Bake

Heirloom Chicken and Rice Bake 

A delicious chicken and rice recipe from Pillsbury Family Cookbook, 1972.  Cooking has come a long way since then, but this recipe has stood the test of time.  Just a few simple changes to bring this heirloom recipe into the 21st century...brown rice and olive oil.  In addition, the recipe works well as a freezer meal for those hectic days during the week.

Ingredients 

3         chicken breasts w/bone

1/2 c.  vinaigrette (yesterday's blog entry)

2 c.     brown rice

1/2 t.  dried thyme

1/4 t.  pepper

1/2 c. diced onion

1        stalk celery- diced

1/2 c. diced mushrooms

4 c.    chicken broth

Directions

Wash and pat chicken dry.  Combine the chicken breasts and vinaigrette in a large zipper bag. Marinate for several hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.  Combine the rice, thyme, pepper, onion, celery and mushroom in the baking dish. Add the chicken broth and stir.  Remove the chicken from the bag and place it on top of the rice. Cover the dish with foil.  Bake 1 hour. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until the rice absorbs all the broth. 

I used boneless chicken fillets. So after an hour, I removed the foil and the chicken.  Keep the chicken warm, but continue to cook the rice for another 30 minutes. 

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Freezer Meal Option

Place the chicken and the vinaigrette in a bag.  Combine the rice and spices in a separate bag.  Place the diced onion and celery in a separate bag.  Freeze all 3 bags together.  Thaw the chicken/vinaigrette before baking and use fresh diced mushrooms.  Follow directions above.  

                                                                                   * Recipe adaptations are from cheapgoodeats.com