It is a cold, wet and windy day here in Chadron-town. Everything is icy and treacherous. While it is not ideal to be out and about, it is the perfect weather for a meal like Easy Sunday Chicken & Rice.
First, it certainly does not need to be a Sunday to make this delicious dish. Secondly, it doesn’t even really need to be cold. But, it does need to be the kind of day when you need a little comfort food. And who the hell doesn’t need a little easy comfort every now and then?
I have fond memories of my mom making this for us and now, I make it for our family at least once a month when the weather starts turning chilly. It makes great leftovers and freezes well if you want to make it ahead.
The best part is it is inexpensive to make and very easy. All you need is about 10 minutes to assemble and then about an hour to cook (depending on what cuts of chicken you use).
The recipe follows below. Choose quick and dirty (if that’s your style) or the lengthier version with pictures (G-rated, foreplay not included–however the climax is quite nice). Okay, time to get your head out of the gutter and start cooking:
Easy Sunday Chicken & Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can of cream of celery soup
- 1 can of cream of chicken soup
- 1 1/2 cup of rice (brown or white–up to you)
- chicken pieces (thighs, legs, breasts–all or some, depends on what kind of a guy you are)
- 1 stick of butter
- Seasonings: garlic salt, pepper, paprika
- Options Additions: chopped celery, carrots and or onions
Quick and dirty directions
Preheat oven to 375. Mix rice, soup and additions in a bowl. Pour mixture into an ungreased 13×9 pan and spread evenly. Place chicken on top of the rice mixture, season to taste and top with pats of butter. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour or until the internal temp of the chicken reaches 165.
Step-by-step directions with photos and funny comments. This is the one you want to read.
Preheat oven to 375. Mix rice, soup and additions.
I used celery on this particular day. If you truly want to make it a one-pan meal, add some chopped carrots.
Spread mixture in the bottom of a 13×9 pan–do not grease. Lightly sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.
I like to use chicken thighs (with the skin on, of course). You could use breasts or legs or whatever suits your fancy. My husband likes thighs (mine especially) and they often have large packages on sale. I used 6 thighs here and froze the other 6 in the package for another day.
NOTE: I would suggest using some dark meat. I have made this before with only breasts and it is just not as good. As a 32A I can tell you that breasts alone can be overrated. You really need the fat and flavor from the dark meat and the skin (we’ll call it “personality”). So, mix it up.
Nestle the chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture, skin side up. I pull the skin back from the thighs and season the meat, then flip it back over and season the skin.
I seasoned with garlic salt, pepper and paprika. A sprinkle of dried rosemary is also a nice addition if you have it. This really gives the dish more flavor and the paprika gives it a wonderful color.
Cut the butter into squares and place the butter squares on top of each piece of chicken. If you have larger chicken pieces–use two squares on those. You may not need the whole stick of butter, but don’t be chintzy.
Hey, I said this was easy, not healthy.
Bake at 375 for about an hour or until a meat thermometer reads 165. The skin on the chicken should be brown and crispy, and you should get a nice light crisp on the rice too–along the edge of the pan.
On this particular day, I went a little crazy with the butter, so the rice didn’t get quite as crispy. But, it still tasted wonderful. Too much butter is never a sin, but it can be a saving grace.
I served it with roasted carrots from my garden (yeah, I am quite the carrot farmer) and onions. And there you have it, comfort food to soothe the soul. Stay warm out there my friends!
