Saturday, May 21, 2011

Earthy Chicken and Rice Casserole






I am having one of those days where I gave it my best mommy shot, but didn’t get the particular results I wanted. First things first, lets go over today’s timeline…just so you can know what I'm working with.


4am – Wake up to Indigo crying in her room.
412am – Bring Indigo to your room, snuggle, beg her to go back to sleep.
414am – Indigo says “Mommy, I have to pee.” Take her to pee
416am – Put the wiggle worm back in her bed. *She actually goes back to sleep* score!









418am – 718am – Suffer what can only be described as cramps from the devil monster horrific cramp inflicter all women should suffer man.

719am – Indigo is now awake
719am-1020am – This is sort of a blur, I do know that I managed to roast some beets.

1022am-1055am – Leave to go to a sing and dance play time at a learning center...sit in traffic since they reduced the freeway down to 1 lane. WHY???? Am I the only one who seems to find road construction around every corner and even on a Saturday morning for goodness sake? I sure hope not.









11am-1145am – Make a drum with Indigo at the Learning Center, watch her play games, think to myself this is a good last day if I am raptured tonight at 6pm – oh yeah and we got ice cream..and Chick-Fil-A, so sue me.


So after all this momma work I put in I thought FOR SURE nap time would be easy.


1205pm – Read a story, shut the door.
1215pm – Toddler party begins in her room. I stop my workout tape and angrily fly up the stairs. Politely talk to toddler in a stern voice, tell her to lie down and take a nap.

1225pm – Shut off work out tape again, run furiously up the stairs and launch a few stuffed animals over the railing.  (Total nerve release, you should try it).









1235 – repeat
1245 – repeat with more angry face then time before and also even once beg in a very nice mommy voice (revers psychology and all).

1255 – Call husband and say there is NO WAY you’re ready for another at the moment thank you.
105pm – eat








INGREDIENTS
Delightfull borrowed from Simply Recipes

• 2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces, patted dry
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 IL button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 cup long grain, white rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon each of Italian seasoning and poultry seasoning
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley & chives








DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high or high heat (hot enough to brown but not burn). Sprinkle a dash of salt on the bottom of the pan. Season the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces on two sides, about 1-2 minutes per batch. Add a little more salt to the pan (and more olive oil if needed) after every batch. This will help prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan. Remove chicken pieces and set aside in a bowl. Chicken does not have to be cooked through, only browned.









In the same sauté pan add 1 Tbsp olive oil, lower the heat to medium, add the onions, and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cook 30 seconds more. Remove onions and garlic to a shallow (9 x 13 x 2) casserole dish.









Raise heat to medium high, add the sliced mushrooms. Dry sauté them, allowing the mushrooms to brown lightly, and release some of their moisture. Add the mushrooms to the casserole dish.









Add 1/4 cup dry white wine to the pan to deglaze the pan, scraping off the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.









 Let the white wine reduce to about 1 Tbsp, then add the chicken stock, and remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, the cream, and the sour cream.









Add the raw rice to the casserole dish. Then pour the stock, white wine, cream, sour cream mixture over the rice. Add the Italian and poultry seasonings to the dish. Stir the rice, onion, mushroom, herb mixture so that they are evenly distributed in the casserole dish.









Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture. Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in a 375°F oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil. If the casserole is still too liquidy, let it cook a few minutes more, uncovered, until the excess liquid has evaporated away.


Sprinkle with fresh parsley and chives before serving.  I like to dub this dish, Thanksgiving in a bowl..with chicken of course.




34 comments:

Jamie Cooks It Up! said...

That looks great! May just have to give it a try.
Hope your day improves......:)

PS: "Total Nerve Release, You Should Try It"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Love it.

PPS: Beautiful pictures!

tinyskillet said...

Oh...Yes...I remember those days (and I only have one child)...and this was a Saturday? Did you save some of the wine to enjoy for yourself?


Well at least dinner looks fabulous! I would ask if we could come over for dinner...but we'll wait for a better time! :D

teresa said...

i love your posts, i can relate to so many of them, the two's are such a fun age! and i happened to hit construction today too, sheesh!

LOVE this casserole, it looks like a nice way to finish out the day.

Delicious Dishings said...

Sounds like you deserve a nice glass of wine! This casserole sounds really tasty!

Unknown said...

I feel for you and your day!

This recipe looks great; can't wait to try it!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A beautiful casserole! So comforting. Yummy!

Cheers,

Rosa

Heather Baird said...

What a day!! At least you have a big ol' casserole dish full of comfort food to smooth the tension.

Love your step-by-steps. I always find them very helpful. :)

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

wooooooooooooo...hooooooo...sounds delicious..

Tasty Appetite
Event: Letz Relishh Ice Creams

scrambledhenfruit said...

Life is much less exciting when your children are grown. :) This chicken dish is comfort food at its finest!

Mari Nuñez said...

Jennifurla, this is a great dish....I would love to try it soon!

have a great weekend :)

Bake-A-Holic said...

My husband was ready for baby #3 when our youngest was 3 months old. Um...No. Give me some time. A little stressed here.

Sue said...

This is my kind of casserole, the stick-to-your-ribs kind. I rememebr those days of trying to get my kids to take a nap, now it's the grandkids:)

Lorraine said...

I remember those days. I am tired just reading about your day..lol

Your dish sounds fantastic. My kind of meal. I think my kids would even like this. I am bookmarking will try it this week. Thanks for sharing it:)

Mary Bergfeld said...

This really sounds delicious. Your casserole is the type of dish my family adores. I suspect you weren't raptured yesterday, so I hope the remainder of your day went well. Have a great weekend. Blessings...Mary

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

Sounds delicious! I must make this!

Angie's Recipes said...

I adore good comforting casseroles like this. Yummy!

Unknown said...

Ooooh this casserole sounds delicious. I've had sooo many days like this! Awww the joys of motherhood! : )

Val said...

This is comfort food at it's finest!

Angela said...

This looks great. I love chicken thighs; they are such a perfect cut of meat. Your day was c-r-a-z-y!

Emily said...

One of my favorite comfort foods. This looks great.

Sorry about your day! Geez.

Just Cake Girl said...

Yummy :)

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Your posts always make me giggle...I do remember those days...and wonder how I ever got dinner ready! This casserole looks fabulous...and your photos are fantastic and drool-worthy, as usual~

Cookie baker Lynn said...

That's why mommies need to work out - so we can be flexible! Life never seems to happen according to plan.

I love the look of this casserole. It's like the chicken and rice casserole that calls for a can of soup, only much tastier and healthier!

Unknown said...

Aaaahhh... yes, another reminder as to why I only have cats :) lol
The casserole looks wonderful... so comforting and delicious!!

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious, sounds delicious. I remember so well those days!! Wait until she starts driving!!!
Mary

Unknown said...

A perfect family weeknight dish! Love it! We live very similar lives...too funny! :) XO

Pam said...

The perfect comfort food for ONE OF THOSE DAYS that all mothers have.

Unknown said...

Oh no! I hate days like that. I hope it got better after you ate. This dish looks quite tasty and pretty easy as well. Thanks for sharing!

Clements Family said...

I swear those days happen all to often around here. I am sorry!!! Though that dish looks so comforting and delish!

aipi said...

A comforting meal ~ great pictorials!
US Masala

Rachel said...

It is SO easy to relate to your posts, as the mother of a 3 (going on 12) year old little girl and a 6 year old "typical little boy". I certainly understand feeling like I'm two seconds away from pulling my hair out!

Your casserole looks absolutely wonderful and your pictures are beautiful! I hope your week is starting off great!

Alessandra said...

:-) love your stories! I think that it is time for Indigo to have a baby brother!

ciao
A.

Marisa Seguin said...

Oh man! I've still got awhile to go before I have kids of my own but we've been having a big family pow wow these past five days (which includes my twin four year old cousins) and they are exhausting! Love them to pieces but for now, I'm glad I can give them back at the end of the day ;)

This casserole looks de-lish. Definitely adding it to my summer dinner list.

enestvmel said...

You're probably not a crockpot user, but I bet this would work well in the crockpot.