Unexpected Company Casserole

Anyone home?

There you are, minding your own business and thinking about all the things you have to get done ...... and the door bell chimes or the phone rings and you've got company at the door or coming over soon!! Immediately the mind begins to race - will they still be here at dinner time? What do I have in the cabinets/fridge/freezer to feed these folks? Well, fear drop-in company no more because here is a 'comfort food' sort of casserole that you can throw together in minutes and serve in an hour from the time you put it in the oven.

The original recipe came from Campbell's Soup and I've modified it a little bit. Also, I doubled it for a 9 x 13 pan (8-10 people) and that is the quantity I'll give - just cut the ingredients in half if you want an 8 x 8 pan or 12 x 7 (4, maybe 6 people). We serve this with something like cinnamon apples and a dinner roll ..... voila! easy, tasty, hot dinner.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
• 3-1/2 cups of water
• 1-1/2 cups of long grain white rice
• 2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 4 cups frozen vegetables (note: a 1 lb. frozen bag of carrots, green beans, corn & peas is perfect. You can use whatever vegetables you like.)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• chicken - you will need enough chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces (& cooked) to cover the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan or whatever size pan you are using. 
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. If you have made your chicken chunks ahead & frozen them, just thaw in the microwave and use; otherwise, cut chicken breasts (fresh or frozen that has been thawed) into bite-sized chunks. Add a tablespoon or two of oil to a large pan and add the chopped onion and chicken chunks, cook until chicken is just done. The onion should be soft and translucent. (see 'cooking notes' on chicken for comments on fresh, frozen, make ahead, etc.)
3. Put the Cream of Chicken soup in a large bowl, add the water, then stir/whisk until all is mixed and smooth.
4. Add onion powder, frozen veggies, rice and chicken chunks/onion and stir until combined. Make sure the veggies are separated since frozen veggies like to clump when they hit the warmer soup mixture.
5. Spoon casserole into a 9 x 13 pan.
6. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes.
7. Put cheese on top and return to the oven until melted. You can also run it under the broiler until the cheese is melted.

Cooking notes:

• I found the casserole to be too soupy after 45 minutes which is why I give it another 10 minutes in the oven uncovered. After that, it 'sets up' quite nicely after being removed from the oven and allowed to rest for a few minutes.

• The chicken can be handled a variety of ways. Of course, you can always use fresh chicken if you have it available. I use frozen chicken breasts, thaw them in the microwave, then cut into chunks. This is a particularly good way to use those odd not-quite-a breast pieces left in a bag of frozen chicken breasts. You can also just plunk whole (thawed if using frozen) chicken breasts on top of the rest of the casserole - this is what the original recipe did - 4 whole chicken breasts on top of the soup/rice/veggie mixture. If the chicken is chunked, it is much easier to serve and less chicken will go farther in the casserole. To make ahead, take your cooked chicken chunks and freeze them .... when company pops in, just thaw in the microwave and they are ready for the casserole.

• Cheese - this is the most problematic item (in my opinion) to keep on hand for unexpected guests. Since cheese is so easy to put on everything, it tends to disappear quickly! The chicken can be frozen and a box of rice, cans of soup and frozen veggies are not an issue, so what to do about cheese?  It turns out cheese can also be frozen - either freeze a bag of grated cheese or freeze a block of cheese and then grate it as you need it. It can be thawing while the casserole is in the oven for 45 minutes. Frozen cheese may change consistency somewhat, but it is perfect for cooking. You can freeze it in the original packaging (preferable) or wrap it in plastic wrap, then put it in a freezer bag.

 (Photo: Merlot)