Brown Rice Casserole

If you conduct an Internet search for brown rice casserole, what you're generally going to find are a lot of casserole recipes that have brown rice in them, but are not casseroles dedicated strictly to the titular ingredient, many of which contain chicken, broccoli and cheese - not that there's anything wrong with that.  In fact, my own recipe archive includes a Potluck Chicken and Rice Casserole that can be made with either brown or white rice.

But on this occasion, I wanted an accompaniment to my Baked Chicken Thighs in Savory Broth with something more than just plain brown rice over which I would normally serve the chicken.  I wanted a hearty casserole that would stand on its own and compliment the main course.  Since I couldn't really find what I was looking for on the Internet, I created this.

Brown rice is a more healthful alternative to white rice, and I love them both, but My Number One Fan and I were both recuperating from the unpleasant side-effects of our second CoVid vaccination and were feeling puny and achy. A creamy brown rice casserole with chicken just sounded like a good thing to be having for dinner.  I'm happy to say I was right, and these two dishes go together beautifully .

By the way, there are several varieties of brown rice: long-grain, short-grain, medium-grain, light brown, basmati, etc.  This casserole is indifferent to the variety of brown rice you might use so long as the rice has been prepared according to the directions on the package.  One way to know you're using true brown rice as opposed to a knock-off is the length of time in cooking it; anything that hasn't required soaking beforehand, or any less than 45 minutes of stove-top cooking time, and you're using something other than a rice that has not been extensively processed and polished, removing the edible husk and hence the nutritious fiber from the kernels.  My recipe was made with RiceSelect Texmati Long Grain Brown Rice.  Texmati is a proprietary hybrid of American long-grain brown rice and basmati rice from South Asia.

And yes, this is another "can-o-dis" recipe.  Get over it. Click on the search label to your left if you don't already know what this means.

Ingredients
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1 cup chicken stock (like, Kitchen Basics)
1-1/4 cup chicken broth (like, Swanson's)
2 tbsp butter, plus 2 more for cooking
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced, about a cup
3 long celery stalks, finely diced, about a cup
1 4-1/2 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained (like, Green Giant)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (like, Campbell's)
1 can condensed cream of celery soup (like, Campbell's)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried basil
2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
10-12 grinds of freshly cracked black pepper
non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)

The Recipe
Again, if you're not using long-grain brown rice, follow the preparation directions on the package, substituting chicken stock and/or chicken broth for water. Otherwise, mix the rice, chicken stock, chicken broth, 2 tbsp of butter and the tsp of salt in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil, stir once, then cover the pan and reduce the heat to low, allowing the liquid to gently simmer. Cook the rice 45 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Remove the rice from the heat and allow to steam-dry for a bit in a large mixing bowl.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

While the rice is simmering, combine the remaining butter and the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the onion and celery until they just start picking up a little color, about ten minutes. Add the mushrooms at the last minute and heat through.

Add the vegetables to the rice in the mixing bowl.  Add the two soups, the garlic powder, basil, thyme, salt and pepper and mix well to combine with a rubber spatula.  Use a folding technique rather than a mixing motion so as to not break down or masticate the grains of rice.

Pour the rice mixture into a 9" x 9" baking dish treated with cooking spray and bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and slightly browned on top.