Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

I love casseroles.  They are just comfort food.  Casseroles are warm and yummy and delicious.  My favorite casserole is this Chicken and Wild Rice. 

It has a warm and creamy inside and a crunchy top.  It is full of yummy goodness.  And, believe it or not, I can make it milk/dairy free for my sweet String Beane.  We all love eating this meal.  All the little beanes eat it up and, like I said, it is my favorite casserole.  That lands it a spot in the family favorite recipe section! 

I originally found this recipe in a copy of Southern Living.  I will list the recipe the original way and put in parenthesis how I made it milk free.

Ingredients

1 (3lbs) whole chicken

1/2 c water

1/2 dry sherry (I have always just used chicken broth because I don't have dry sherry)

1 celery stalk

1/2 onion quartered

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 (6oz) package Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice mix

1/4 c butter (Flieshmann's unsalted margarine)

1 (8oz) package sliced mushrooms

1/2 c green onions chopped

1/2 c sour cream (Toufutti "sour cream")

half can of cream of mushroom soup (homemade concoction of faux cream of chicken soup)

1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers

1/2 of a 6 oz can of French's Fried onions

2 T butter melted (Flieshmann's unsalted margarine)

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions

Bring the first nine ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch Oven.  Reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is done.  Remove chicken, reserving broth.  Strain broth into a 4 cup measuring cup.  Discard solids.  Cook rice according to package directions, substituting 2 1/8 cup reserved chicken broth for water and omitting butter. 

Bone and chop the chicken (remove skin). 

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in dutch oven and add mushrooms and green onions.  Saute` 10 minutes.  Stir in rice, chicken, sour cream, and soup.  Spoon into casserole dish. 

Stir together crushed crackers and fried onions.  Stir in 2 T melted butter, paprika, and garlic powder. Sprinkle over casserole mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes or until bubbly.

 It comes out looking like this.

Spoon it onto the plates and serve it up with some broccoli. 

This is such a good dish for cold nights.  Or any night for that matter. 

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