Saturday, January 11, 2014

Almost Like Donetta's Chicken and Rice

My friend Donetta makes the BEST chicken and rice.  When I delivered my first baby, she brought dinner to me and it featured her chicken and rice.  She was generous enough to give me her recipe but for whatever reason, mine has never turned out as well as hers... until now.

Tonight, I had chicken thighs in the fridge and had no idea what I was going to do with them.  Suddenly, chicken and rice popped into my mind but I didn't have any condensed mushroom soup.  Ugh.  I didn't want to head out to the store with my little ones so I consulted my dear friend Google.  I found two recipes (a & b) that sounded promising.  However, as I cooked, I found myself combining them.  I am soo glad I did since the result was absolutely delicious.  The whole family loved it... including the kiddos!  Here is what I did.

Almost Like Donetta's Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs, skin removed
1 medium chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used the whole package so it was more)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup white wine
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
1 can low sodium chicken stock
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1 cup long grain rice
2 Tbsp fresh/dried parsley
1/2 tsp paprika


Directions:
Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and set aside. 

In a pan, heat a little olive oil and add onions and mushrooms.  Sautee until softened and the mushrooms release most of their liquid.  Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds.  Pour vegetables into a 9x13 baking dish and top with rice.  In pan, add butter and melt.  Whisk flour into butter and cook for 1 minute... until the mixture begins to brown slightly.  Pour in the stock, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until mixture begins to get bubbly and thicken, about 5 minutes.  Pour sauce over rice and veggies and add parsley.  Mix until the contents are evenly dispersed.  Top with seasoned thighs.  Sprinkle top with paprika and cover with foil. 

Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 45 minutes, until rice is soft, chicken is cooked through and liquid is evaporated.  My dish needed more time, so I removed the foil and baked for another 10 minutes.

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