recipe of the week:

chopping and feeling good since the kids are happily playing w/ playdoh

brown rice is ready and starting to sautee the onions and celery



this recipe used a ton of dishes!

Chicken Almond Rice Casserole



Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice (approx. 1.5 cups of uncooked rice) I used brown rice
2 tablespoons butter
1 med onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped   I used a about 1.5 cups instead
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 pound chicken breast, cubed into bite sized pieces (about 3 breasts)
1 1/4 cup mayonnaise  I used slightly less as I don't care for mayo
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
Salt and Pepper
1 box (5oz) of Stove Top stuffing mix
3 tablespoons melted butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a medium size saute/frying pan toast almonds for approximately 3 minutes on medium-high heat.  Remove almonds from pan into large bowl.  Add 2 TB of butter to frying pan and saute chicken pieces until no longer pink.  Remove chicken and add to the bowl with almonds.  Saute onions and celery for 3 minutes and add to the chicken/almond mixture.  Add rice, condensed cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, and a little salt and pepper (to taste) to the bowl and mix everything until well combined.  Add mixture to a greased casserole dish (dish size can be anything from medium to 9×13).  Microwave 3 TB. of butter until melted.  Open the bag of Stove Top Stuffing and add melted butter to it.   Fold the bag at the seam and shake the mixture for half a minute.  Sprinkle the stuffing mixture on top of the casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

The verdict...
Jeremy, who usually dislikes casseroles LOVED it!  I, on the other hand who loves casseroles only thought it was so/so but I was thrilled w/ myself for trying a new recipe and "putting love" into it. It did help that my kids played with playdoh the whole time I made this and stayed out of the kitchen.  Carter and Theo both picked the chicken out, but they at least ate some of it! I made so much of it that I also gave some to my mom and her husband and they both liked it as well.  I got the recipe from savorysweetlife.com (she has more pictures) Enjoy!