RECIPE: Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

I love casseroles.  Take the simplest, humblest ingredients--leftovers, even!--and throw them in a baking dish with cheese and some cream, and you're set!  I call this the Law of Excellent Dinners, wherein the prime tenets are simplicity, cheesiness, and toothy delight. 

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole 

INGREDIENTS

3 cups cooked sprouted brown rice
1 cup cooked sprouted wild rice
6 tablespoons butter
8 oz sliced fresh portobello mushrooms (about 3 cups, or 1 package)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk
1 cup sharp cheese, shredded (I used Parmesan & Gorgonzola)
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken*
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup slivered, sliced, or crushed almonds, toasted
salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a 9" by 9" glass baking dish with butter or cooking spray.  Cook rice as directed on package(s), using 2 tablespoons of the butter and a pinch of salt.

Meanwhile, in an extra-large skillet, melt the remaining 1/4 cup of your butter over medium-high heat.  Cook mushrooms, onion, and garlic in butter and white wine for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bellas are tender and the onions are translucent.

Reduce the heat to medium and stir in cornstarch.  Gradually add milk and heat to boiling; cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in half of the cheese.

In a large bowl, mix your cooked rice, milk mixture, chicken, broth, and seasonings until blended.  Scrape into baking dish with a spatula and sprinkle with almonds and remaining cheese.  Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

VERDICT?  This dish is so, so good.  It is complex.  It is rich.  It has cheese, chicken, bella mushrooms, and wild rice.  Can I hear three cheers for texture?  Amen.


* For this recipe, I used the leftover chicken from my honey & molasses-glazed chicken, which added a pleasant rich sweetness to the already complex pastiche of flavors in this casserole.

RECIPE: Honey & Molasses-Glazed Chicken

I have decided that I have a bad penchant for taking the path of least resistance when it comes to food.  That is, I tend to gravitate toward the cheap carbs, like the Ezekiel bread you can find at Harps or the great range of sprouted-grain breads, bagels, pastas, tortillas, and pocket breads that are available at Ozark Natural (my go-to place for whole, bulk, and healthy foods now).  These carbs are not bad in the big scheme of things--but they're still pretty worthless if they're your primary food group.

And so, because I like meat the same way that women like classy gentlemen, I decided I would try to introduce a little more protein into my diet.  (Protein is not to be confused with peanut butter, a divine substance which I believe stands as a food group in and of itself.)  Hence, I shopped the weekly special at Aldi and picked up a pack of drumsticks, simply because I've never cooked drumsticks before and they're a relatively inexpensive cut of meat, especially at Harps on a Wednesday evening.

Honey & Molasses-Glazed Chicken

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon garlic, minced or crushed
1 teaspoon olive oil
10 chicken drumsticks, skinned
salt & pepper, freshly ground, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Whisk together the water, honey, balsamic, Dijon, molasses, and garlic.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and season the chicken with the salt and pepper.  Once the pan is sizzling hot, add chicken and brown on all sides.  Pour the honey & molasses mixture over the browned chicken, turning the drumsticks to coat.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover and cook the drumsticks for 15 minutes or until done, turning the chicken every 5 minutes.  Uncover and cook for an additional minute or until the honey-molasses mixture is thick and rich in color.  Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes before eating.  Cover and chill your leftovers--they make an excellent base for something like my chicken and wild rice casserole.


VERDICT?  I rather enjoyed this one.  I haven't made a sweet chicken recipe before, and it made a refreshing change from the dry and bland overcooked chicken that is so common in this area.  The meat practically flaked off of the bone, and even though it was sticky and messy it was a delight to eat.  Best of all, it violates none of the laws of the Body Chemistry Diet, and it's safe to eat for anyone with a gluten intolerance, as well.  Extra points!

RECIPE: Buttermilk-Marinated Wild Turkey (or very domestic chicken)

So ... it turns out that I'm not very good at making gravy. The instructions I give you are as the recipe gave them to me, and I shall devoutly pray that you have better luck than did I. I promise you I followed the directions--to the letter! ... but it was destined not to be. The chicken turned out wonderfully enough to more than make up for the absence of good gravy. Such a Southern thing, anyway, this white gravy idea.

Buttermilk-Marinated Turkey

ORIGINAL INGREDIENTS:
1 wild turkey, 13-15 pounds, plucked and drawn
Salt & fresh-ground pepper to taste
2 quarts buttermilk
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 teaspoons paprika
2 slices white bread, torn into pieces
1 1/2 cups sherry
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Now, being the recent ex-college student that I am, I make do mostly with the food I am given. I have opted to take part in the Angel Food Ministry, where you pay $30 online every month for a box of food worth more like $75--bought wholesale and distributed through local churches one Saturday of every month. The idea is that one box can feed a family of 4 for approximately one week. My box will last me longer, especially since I supplement it with fresh fruits and veggies (and my precious Aldi purchases of salmon and european chocolate ....). In any case, this month's box came with a whole chicken. Thus ....

MY INGREDIENTS:
1 4-pound chicken, plucked and drawn
Salt & fresh-ground pepper, to taste
2 cups buttermilk, reconstituted from powder
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon paprika
1 slice whole wheat bread, torn into small pieces
2/3 cup sherry
1 tablespoon butter, melted

And yes, the proportions are not to scale. But it would have been very dull indeed if I had followed the recipe! Anyhow, I proceeded as follows:

Wash and dry the turkey (CHICKEN) and sprinkle with salt and pepper inside and out (while remembering to thoroughly thaw the fowl--mistake numero uno--and remove the prepackaged guts--mistake numero dos--if unfortunate enough to have bought a fowl with such an anomalous state of being. I DID get around to removing the plastic-encased gizzards, but not before puncturing the packet and getting mushed liver on my pointer finger.

Place the turkey (CHICKEN) in a deep roasting pan and pour the buttermilk over it. Marinate overnight--or, in my case, for an hour--turning several times.

Remove the turkey-chicken from the marinade and drain, discarding any remaining marinade, and then place the unlucky creature in a shallow roasting pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (Farenheit, of course, unless you're from the sane part of the world that uses practical means of measurement). In a bowl, combine onion, celery, paprika, bread, and most of the sherry--and mix thoroughly. Stuff the turkey (CHICKEN) with the mixture. Brush melted butter over the entire fowl.

Place the turken in the oven and roast, basting with drippings and the remaining sherry every 20 or so minutes. Bake for approximately 20 minutes per pound or until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced. Remove turken from oven and discard all of the stuffing (this is nasty stuffing, trust me).

Carve. Serve with the gravy you didn't manage to stuff up.

GRAVY INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pan drippings from turkey (CHICKEN)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
Salt & fresh-ground pepper to taste

The key is to keep all of the ingredients proportional, I think. You may not want so much gravy. I do. I love gravy with a passion. Just ask my parents.

Over low heat, add flour to the drippings and stir to make a smooth paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in the milk in three parts, mixing after each addition until smooth (didn't work for me, but you may be blessed). Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.