Parmesan Chicken and Wild Rice Bake

If you are anything like me, you are always in need of a great go-to recipe for your family or to share with someone who needs a meal! My own repertoire was seeming overused to me but this addition to my collection was a success with my own family and with friends I have shared it with.

Earlier this fall my mom, sister, and I went out to visit family in Washington state where my aunt and uncle prepared an incredible meal of chicken, wild rice, and broccoli. Turns out that wild rice is a side dish I never realized I needed in my life!

I immediately started thinking about a way to use it in a casserole and remembered several I have tried over the years. I knew most of them had water chestnuts and since I am not a huge fan of those, I started looking for one that was a little different. After a pretty extensive search, I landed on one from Better Homes and Gardens.

The basic recipe sounded quite good to me but I knew I wanted to change it up a little bit. I didn't want all of the other flavors from a boxed wild rice mix, so instead I bought a jar of wild rice mix that only had the rice in it and substituted that for the one called for in the original recipe.

You could certainly use the boxed kind if you wanted to but I found the results with this to be perfect. I bought this one in the rice section of Kroger and while it was a little pricey (about $7 for the jar) I know I can get at least three casseroles out of it. You could also just use any other wild rice you find. I just know that this one worked great and that it only took about 20 minutes to cook the rice.

Aside from the lack of water chestnuts in this recipe, I was also drawn to the Parmesan cheese it calls for as most other recipes do not use this ingredient. I am a HUGE fan of Sartori cheeses (as you can tell from other blog posts!) so of course that was my go to for this part. You can find the grated Sartori in the fine cheese section of your grocery store. The bag lasts for quite a while and is a much better alternative to other "shakey cheeses" as we call grated parmesan in our house!

I also love the depth that the white wine adds to this recipe. It only calls for about 1/3 of a cup but it adds so much flavor overall. My preference for white wine in recipes is Sauvignon Blanc but any dry white wine would work fine. I would avoid cooking wine as it often makes recipes too salty for my tastes.

The original recipe calls for a can of cream of chicken soup which you could certainly use for convenience, but I really and truly believe my homemade "cream of" soup makes any casserole recipe a hundred times better. It doesn't take that long and the recipe makes enough for two casseroles which means one can go in the freezer for another meal. I do suggest thinning the frozen one out a little with a tablespoon or two of milk.

I wanted a little crunch to the casserole so the addition of about 1/2 a cup of chopped pecans the top accomplished this.

If you have access to fresh basil, by all means, include it to the recipe for even more flavor!

Parmesan Chicken and Wild Rice Bake (Click for printable recipe)

2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie works great!)
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 a recipe of homemade "cream of" soup (see below) or 1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (always Sartori brand for me)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a two quart baking dish.

Prepare rice, chicken, and "cream of" soup if using homemade.

In a small skillet over medium low heat, sauté onions and celery until softened.

Mix together onions, celery, soup, sour cream, white wine, salt, pepper, and basil. Combine chicken and wild rice in a large bowl. Stir together with soup mixture.

Pour mixture into casserole dish and top with parmesan and chopped pecans.

Bake uncovered for 25 - 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Homemade "Cream Of" Soup

1/3 C. finely chopped celery
1/3 C. finely chopped onion
1/3 C. butter
1/3 C. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 t. celery seed
1/4 t. poultry seasoning
1 3/4 C. chicken broth
2/3 C. milk

In a large pot or skillet, sautee onions, celery, and mushrooms in butter over medium heat until soft.  Add flour and seasonings.  Stir and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly stir in broth and milk.  Whisk over medium low heat until mixture has thickened.