French Onion Chicken and Rice Casserole

Every week, I have the same issue: what do I make for lunches this week?

I would love to have dinner leftovers to take to work with us every day, but that doesn’t always work out. And when both of us need lunches during the week, sandwiches get old pretty quickly….and then, if I don’t try to plan a head a little bit, we’re left with no choices at all.

Most weeks, I try to either make something that Nick would like and something for me to have for lunches thru the week, and then we take dinner leftovers when we have them. And that works – usually.

Plus, doing this every week means our lunches get repeated….a lot. So I’m always looking for new recipes to make or new ideas for lunches for us to keep us from being bored by the same chicken salad every other week.

A few weeks ago, the folks at Heluva Good! Dip asked me to join in their blogger recipe contests and it was perfect timing! I was looking for something new to use for lunches, and this gave me the perfect excuse to use a rainy afternoon to mix it up and make something out of the norm for us.

And as soon as I picked up the dip, I knew what I had to make: a good, old fashioned casserole. Nick loves casseroles. I should make them more. They’re so easy! But if I don’t already have cooked chicken or grains in the fridge, they can take a while to put together, so planning ahead is key. I had some cooked chicken ready to use in the fridge, and – I totally took the cop out here – I used those microwave packets of rice. I love those. Total weeknight meal savers.

The french onion dip is mixed with milk and some extra seasonings and used as the liquid/binder for this casserole, which is full of diced chicken, rice, and fried onions on top for even more onion flavor and some crunch.

Want to see the other recipes and help me out with a vote? You can check out the recipe contest here – I can’t wait to try the rest!

French Onion Chicken and Rice Casserole
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/2 cup Heluva Good! French Onion Dip
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 and 1/4 cups fried onions, half crushed, half kept in pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a 3 quart / medium casserole dish, mix the cooked chicken and the rice together.
3. Put the dip in a medium bowl and stir up a little bit with a spoon to break it up and smooth it out a little. Add the milk to the dip and stir together, gently, until the dip is mixed in with the milk. Add the garlic powder, pepper, and paprika to the milk and dip.
4. Pour the dip mixture over the chicken and rice and fold everything together.
5. Crush half of the fried onions and sprinkle the crushed onions and the bigger pieces over the casserole dish. Sprinkle more paprika, if you want, over the top.
6. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes until the casserole is heated through and the onions are toasted.

Heluva Good! provided me with coupons to get the dip – all recipes and opinions are my own.

http://www.branappetit.com/