Cheesy Chicken, Brown Rice & Veggie Bake

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I love to cook special dinners for my family on Sundays. I especially love a classic with a twist. One of my kid's favorite dishes is a cheesy chicken casserole but recently I have started making it a little healthier than the original recipe we all grew up with. I make a few substitutions, the main one being that I do not use canned soup. I also use brown rice instead of white rice. Even with my updates, my Cheesy Chicken with Brown Rice and Veggies Bake, is still considered a favorite in our home!

When I say family, I mean JC, the kids, my dog Paris and me. I believe that dogs are part of our family. My Paris has been with me since my college days, not to age myself but she has been around for 14 years! 

My girl is a trooper. She rarely gets sick, eats everything she finds and love herself some human food. I do slip her some human food here and there but most of the time she eats dog food. I like for her to have yummy, tasty dog food that she actually eats so recently we have switched over to Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® DISH Chicken & Brown Rice recipe with Veggies & Fruit food. 

The Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® dog food line is dedicated to "Real Recipes. Real Ingredients. Real Good," which means whole ingredients you can see for a taste your dog will love. Real U.S. farm raised beef or chicken is always the #1 ingredient and you'll never find corn, wheat, soy or gluten, poultry by-product meat, fillers, artificial preservatives, colors or artificial flavors on the recipe label. In fact, every DISH from Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® recipe is made with whole ingredients you can see, like slow-roasted chicken, carrots, peas, potatoes and apples for a while taste your dog will love. 

Honestly, this new food that Paris has been loving led to me updating the traditional chicken casserole recipe to a lighter, healthier dish for my family. 

CHEESY CHICKEN WITH BROWN RICE & VEGGIES BAKE

Serves 6

Prep & Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat

2 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup milk

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups long-grain brown rice

1 tbsp butter

1 can peas and carrots, drained and rinsed

 2 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup shredded colby jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a pan, heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste. Place chicken breasts side by side on hot oil and cook for 3 minutes on one side.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add flour and milk. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper. 

Turn the chicken breasts to the other side and cook for another 3-4 minutes. I like seared chicken in my bake. Searing traps the juices in and makes your meats so much more delicious. 

Spray your casserole dish (I keep this old-school one on hand just for this dish!), with nonstick cooking spray and then add the 2 cups of rice evenly. 

Add butter, peas and carrots. 

Then, slowly drizzle your liquid mixture over the rice and veggies.

Add chicken breasts.

Pour chicken stock into your dish

Sprinkle cheese evenly. Cover dish tightly with aluminium foil. 

Bake 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove form oven, uncover and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.  

I love how this dish looks. Oh and I love that's it's all in one dish, makes clean-up a little easier! 

This cheesy chicken, brown rice and veggie bake is not creamy since I do not use canned soup but honestly, you won't miss it. It's so good!

I love getting ideas for new or updated dishes from unexpected places! Who would have thought that from buying my Paris new dog food that I would have updated a classic!!

I love to help a cause.  Did you know that Rachael's personal proceeds go to Rachael's Rescue? Rachael's Rescue was created to help shelter pets in need. To date, she has donated over $10MM. This money has gone toward food, medical supplies and treatments for these unfortunate animals. 

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