It’s just a simple chicken and rice casserole. But when I make it, I feel nostalgia, love and comfort. This is my mother’s recipe. Since her death 14 years ago her handwritten recipe cards are one of my most cherished connections to her. So you can imagine my alarm when I somehow allowed this card to become a wet, torn, mess. I’ve since taped it back together and keep it in my recipe box. When I make the casserole for company at the holidays, reading my mom’s shorthand and notes written from memory, I feel close to her. When I taste the casserole, it feeds my soul with memories of her Christmas entertaining. Her notes on the card resonate: “I wouldn’t put in this much salt,” she says, and it feels like she’s talking to me now. Holiday recipes are about so much more than food. They are about keeping tradition, love and memory alive. They are about gathering family together, whether in person or in our hearts.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients:
1 cup wild rice, cooked
3 cups cooked chicken breast, diced
1/4 cup flour
1 6 oz. can sliced mushrooms
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups light whipping cream
1 cup onion, chopped
1 small jar red pimientos
Fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/2 cup butter
Cook 1 cup wild rice according to package directions
Chop 1 cup onion and cook in pan with 1/2 cup butter until tender but not brown
Remove onion from heat
Stir in 1/4 cup flour
Drain 1 6 oz. can sliced mushrooms (or sauté fresh mushrooms in butter) reserving liquid
Add enough chicken broth to liquid to measure 1 1/2 cups
Gradually stir liquid into flour and onion mixture
Add 1 1/2 cups light whipping cream
Cook and stir until mixture thickens
Add rice, mushrooms, 3 cups diced cooked chicken, 1/4 cup diced pimiento, 2 tablespoons snipped parsley, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Place in 2-quart casserole dish
Sprinkle with slivered blanched almonds
Bake in 350-degree oven 25 to 30 minutes or until hot