Once Upon An Apple Tree: Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

There's nothing nicer to warm up to this time of the year than this hot, quick and easy home made meal. My Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole will surely become be a favorite as soon as you try it!

I like this recipe because it uses ingredients I always have in the house. Anything I can make without having to hit the grocery store first is good for me.

1 1/2 c. uncooked Wild Rice - this Lunberg CountryWild rice is delicious! It smells amazing when cooking and has great colors that will make any dish you're cooking look even tastier.

1 Yellow Onion, chopped
3 Celery stalks, diced
1 Tbsp Butter
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/3 c Sour Cream or cream cheese, whichever you have on hand
1/2 c Chicken Broth + more to cook your rice
3 Chicken Breast, cut into small, bite sized pieces
Parmesan Cheese to sprinkle on top.
Salt & Pepper
Thyme or Rosemary, whichever you prefer

Cook the rice according to the package but replace the water with chicken broth, it will give your casserole a richer flavor.
With about 15 minutes of cooking time left on your rice you can begin cooking the chicken and the other ingredients.
I use 2 frying pans and get everything done at once. Chicken cooking in one pan and the rest cooking in the other pan.

Sauté the onions and celery in the pan with the butter until soft, about 12 minutes.

In your second frying pan cook the chicken with a little splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. ( if you only have one pan to use, cook the chicken first)

Add the chicken to the celery mixture. Mix in the soup, sour cream, chicken broth, salt and pepper, and seasoning. Stir together well.

Once it's all combined, add to your casserole dish. This lovely orange le creuset dish is our yard sale find from a few years back! It gets used a lot in the winter.

Preheat the oven to 400