# smoked chicken and rice casserole



## tasunkawitko (Aug 23, 2009)

this is an old standby at our house - easy to make, cheap and works great for a large family. i'll give you the basic recipe (non-smoked) and then show you the modifications i made for it today.

*TasunkaWitko’s House Chicken & Rice Casserole* 

• One whole chicken 
• 8 servings of Minute-Rice, prepared according to package directions 
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup 
• A sprinkle or two of your favorite seasoning (we use Cavender’s Greek 
Seasoning) 
• 2 cans your favorite vegetables (we use peas) 
• 8 oz. (small block) cheddar cheese, grated and divided (the sharper the 
better) 

Boil the chicken until it’s done (I wish I could be more precise; the meat 
will be loose on the bone and won’t be reddish or pink), checking 
occasionally and turning over as necessary. Be sure to add water if it boils 
down enough to expose chicken. 

When the chicken is done, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Completely de- 
bone chicken and chop or shred meat into small pieces. Discard bones, 
skin, gristle and anything else that is not meat. Prepare the rice. For extra 
flavor, you can use the water from boiling the chicken, but be sure to 
skim the fat off first. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, rice, seasoning (to your taste), 
mushroom soup and vegetables. Mix well, then stir in half of the cheese. 
Dump mixture into a large baking pan and spread evenly. Top with 
cheese and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until cheese is golden-brown. 
Serve with hot rolls. Be sure to save some for lunch the next day.


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prepared this tonight with a couple of twists - here are the deviations from the normal recipe: 

chicken: smoked instead of boiled using my greek rub, which can be found here: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=80826. squirted lemon juice all over it, then rubbed it down and cooked on ECB with kingsford charcoal that has hickory shavings imbedded - no other wood or smoke other than that. resulted in a mild smoke that was not overpowering. did brush with olive oil while cooking.

rice: i prefer to use "real" rice, but minute rice is quick and easy when you ahve a lot of kids. since the chicken was rubbed down with salt, pepper and oregano, i added no other seasoning to rice other than a little garlic and onion powder.

veggies - i used a 1-lb bag of a frozen veggie blend from our local store (western family). the package SAYS scandinavian blend, but it looks greek or italian to me: chopped green beans, carrots, onions. zucchini and peas.
cheese: usually use cheddar, but this time used a bag of kraft velveeta. put 1/2 in the rice/chicken mixture and the other half on top.

the mixture looked and smelled great as it went into the oven, but mrs. tas wasn't convinced. she said the greek rub made the whole chicken look terrible, even though when stirred into the mixture as a whole, the chicken looked fine as the seasonings distributed around. also, the chicken was smoked, which she isn't a big fan of to begin with. she probably could have handled either one of those factors alone, but when put together, she had me fry her up a few breaded chicken tender strips.

should be done after 45 minutes or so in at 350 degrees - will report on taste, but i think it's going to be pretty dang good. since mrs. tas won't be eating it and the three boys aren't that hungry today (two are sick, the third has been eating like a horse all day after recovering from being sick, so now he isn't hungry), it looks like i have lunch for at least 3 or 4 days this coming week!

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this turned out pretty dang good - contrary to mr;s tas's fears, it was neither too stong in seasoning nor was it too strong in the smoke department. the seasoning was just right, since it was dispersed throughout the casserole, and the mild smoke aroma and a bit of flavor permeated just enough to remind a person of bacon in the background. all-in-all, i think it was quiote a success.

here it is right out of the oven:








with casseroles, lasagna etc., i generally wait about 5 minutes from oven to plate. snce the entire meal was in the casserole, here's a picture of it in a bowl. looks pretty good, but it tasted even better!







as you can see from the recipe, this makes quite a bit, but no worries - i now have lunch for most, if not all of next week!


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## cajunsmoke13 (Aug 23, 2009)

Nice TW.  Awesome as always....Need some of that right now...


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## tasunkawitko (Aug 23, 2009)

it's great food in the fall after a day of hunting, i must say. naturally, it can be made with pheasant or any other game bird of one wishes to do so.

it is also of course good in the winter as a warm feel-good dish - i believe the gals call it comfort food?


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## forluvofsmoke (Aug 23, 2009)

Aaaah.......you know, something about chicken & rice...it seems like anything you put with those two main items, and you'll have a winner! Your's is no different...looks great...it looks very close to a variation we had a couple weeks back...good stuff!

Thanks for sharing, and the reminder of all the good stuff my wife and girls have been cranking out when I'm not playing in my outdoor kitchen...

Eric


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## beer-b-q (Aug 23, 2009)

Looks great Tas... 


Still looking for the person who said burn newspapers I see...


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## tasunkawitko (Aug 23, 2009)

thanks for looking and for the kind words, guys ~ beerBQ - not too big a deal, i guess, but at the time it syre knocked me down....in the end, no one to blame but myself!


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## rivet (Aug 23, 2009)

Man, that is excellent! Always love one dish meals for work-lunches and this is about the best. Caint beat chicken and rice, and your recipe and pics look pretty much like the winners, Tas~ good to go! 

You're right on the other game that can go in the casserole, thinking rabbit will make a great one too. 

Real nice dish and great pics. Thanks for sharing...


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## tasunkawitko (Aug 23, 2009)

rabbit should be really good, john - i've never had squirrel, but i don't see any reason why that wuldn't work, too!

thanks for looking, everyone!


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## the dude abides (Aug 23, 2009)

That looks very good.  Nice work man!


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## meatball (Aug 23, 2009)

Thanks for sharing, that looks really good!!


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## richoso1 (Aug 23, 2009)

Very nice casserole, I know a version of it, so I can say that it is tasty. Thanks for sharing a good recipe.


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## mballi3011 (Aug 23, 2009)

That looks great there TsunkaWitko. Now thats just gonna make everyonwe at work just alittle more jealous won't it. But your eaten good.


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## billbo (Aug 23, 2009)

Looking good, now I need lunch!


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