Chicken & Rice with Mushrooms

I have mentioned a few times before that I was a picky eater as a kit. But chicken & rice was always a dish that I loved when my dad made it. I'm not talking about "arroz con pollo", but rather the baked dish with rice in a creamy sauce.  Some of you will know the one I'm talking about.  But I decided to make a few little variations on the recipe for this version.

I started by sauteing down some red onions in a little oil with salt & pepper until they were just soft.

Next I added sliced mushrooms in butter with salt & pepper. I thought this would add another level of flavor with that earthiness that mushrooms lend to a dish.

I made a light seasoning batter with flour, cayenne pepper, and ground black pepper.  Press each side of some boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into smaller sections, into your flour mixture.

Brown the chicken on all sides in a little oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat.

Add everything together in a casserole dish with 1 cup of instant rice, 2 cups of beef broth, and 1 cup of milk.  Season with salt & pepper.  The beef broth was another idea of mine to add more depth of flavor to this dish. You could also use chicken broth or poultry seasoning. I though the beef broth would be a nice compliment to the earthiness of the mushrooms, though.

Bake it uncovered for 50-55 minutes. Mine probably could have gone for a little longer, or maybe I just should have used a little less liquid. It's just my personal preference probably, but I would like my rice a little fluffier. I was trying to reduce a recipe to a smaller size. There was nothing wrong with it. I'm just now looking at the picture and noticing that it should be a bit tighter.

Nonetheless, it was a great warm dish for a winter night. It's filling, pretty darned healthy, and had some depth of flavor with the mushrooms and beef broth. You can serve it with a little lemon wedge like I did for acidity. It's also nice topped with some Parmesan cheese for added richness and salt.

*Here's an interesting anecdote: after one leftover serving, I decided to go a different direction with the remainder. I added Thai chili paste, green onions, cilantro, and a little bit of sesame oil. Boom! Transformed into a pseudo-Asian dish.