Casseroles aren’t something I make very often, but they sure are a lovely “comfort food” that we enjoy sometimes!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan, melt a third of a cup of butter.
Toss in a finely diced, small onion, and two stalks of celery that are also finely diced.
Cook the onion & celery in the butter until they are tender, and then whisk in a quarter cup of flour.
Pour in 2 cups of milk.
Toss in some Salt & Pepper
and a teaspoon of Thyme
Cook this over medium heat, stirring continually until it just begins to boil and is thickened. Remove it from the heat.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of cooked, diced chicken and 3 cups of cooked rice (You can use white or brown rice, as long as it is fully cooked.)
Coarsely chop a drained can of Water Chestnuts, and add them to the bowl.
Now chop up half a cup of Cashews, and toss them in as well.
Pour in your sauce, and stir this all together.
Spread the mixture into a baking dish.
Now in a small skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter.
When it is melted, turn off the heat, and add in a “tube” of crushed crackers. (About 36 crackers) I used “Roasted Vegetable Ritz” crackers. Stir them around to coat with the butter.
Then stir in about 3/4 of a teaspoon of Poppy Seeds.
Spread this all over the top of the casserole.
Bake it for 20-25 minutes, or until the cracker topping is golden brown.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/3 c + 3 Tb Butter, divided
- 1 small Onion, finely diced
- 2 stalks Celery, finely diced
- 1/4 c Flour
- 2 c Milk
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 2 c cooked Chicken, diced
- 3 c cooked Rice
- 1 can Water Chestnuts (8 ounces)
- 1/2 c Cashews
- 36 Ritz Crackers (Roasted Vegetable), crushed
- 3/4 tsp Poppy Seeds
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan, melt a third of a cup of butter.
Toss in a finely diced, small onion, and two stalks of celery that are also finely diced.
Cook the onion & celery in the butter until they are tender, and then whisk in a quarter cup of flour.
Pour in the milk.
Toss in the Salt & Pepper, and Thyme.
Cook this over medium heat, stirring continually until it just begins to boil and is thickened. Remove it from the heat.
In a large bowl, combine the diced chicken and rice.
Drain and coarsely chop the Water Chestnuts, and add them to the bowl.
Now chop up the Cashews, and toss them in as well.
Pour in your sauce, and stir this all together.
Spread the mixture into a baking dish.
Now in a small skillet, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
When it is melted, turn off the heat, and add in the crushed crackers. Stir them around to coat with the butter.
Then stir in the Poppy Seeds.
Spread this all over the top of the casserole.
Bake it for 20-25 minutes, or until the cracker topping is golden brown.
Enjoy!
http://thefoodiearmywife.com/crunchy-chicken-casserole/
[...] to the store to pick any up. I got several replies, but the one that really caught my eye was a Crunchy Chicken Casserole from The Foodie Army [...]