🍗 Chicken and Rice Casserole – With a Flavor Upgrade! 🍚

Let’s talk about comfort food – the kind that warms your soul and fills your house with that “home-cooked” smell. 🤤 I stumbled across a chicken and rice casserole recipe online a while back, and while the bones of it were solid, the flavor? Well... let’s just say it needed some love. So, of course, I had to put my own twist on it because bland is not in my vocabulary. 🚫😴

My Version of Chicken and Rice Casserole 🥘

This dish is perfect for busy nights when you need something hearty but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. With a few tweaks, this casserole goes from meh to chef’s kiss perfection. 😘👌

🥕 Ingredients:

• 3 raw chicken breasts, diced 🍗

• 2 cups uncooked instant rice 🍚

• 1 can herb cream of chicken soup 🥣

• 1 cup chicken broth 🍵

• 1 cup water (trust me, you don’t need more – the frozen veggies take care of that) ❄️

• 2 cups frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots) 🌽🥕

• 1/2 cup garlic & herb butter (because regular butter is basic) 🧄🧈

• Onion powder – measure with your heart ❤️

• Garlic powder – also measure with your heart 🧄

• Salt & pepper to taste 🧂

🧈 For the Crumb Topping:

• 1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed 🍘

• 3 tbsp melted butter (yes, more butter – just go with it) 🧈

👩‍🍳 Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish because no one likes scrubbing baked-on rice. 🏠🔥

2. In a big ol’ mixing bowl, combine the diced raw chicken, instant rice, herb cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, water, and frozen veggies. 🥄

3. Add in a very generous amount of onion powder and garlic powder. We don’t measure here, we feel the seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste. 🌿

4. Melt the garlic & herb butter and stir it into the mixture. 🧈🫕

5. Pour everything into your greased baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for about 1 hour, checking the chicken in the middle of the dish to ensure it is completely cooked through. ⏳

6. While that’s doing its thing, mix the crushed Ritz crackers with melted butter. 🧈🍘

7. Once the casserole is cooked, sprinkle the buttery Ritz topping over it and bake uncovered for another 5 minutes until golden brown and crispy. 😍

8. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving – I know, patience is hard. 🕰️

💛 Why You’ll Love This Version:

• The herb cream of chicken soup adds depth that the regular stuff lacks. 🌿

• The garlic & herb butter infuses flavor throughout instead of just sitting on top. 🧄🧈

• The buttery Ritz cracker topping? Game. Changer. 🔥

• No more bland, sad chicken and rice – every bite is seasoned and delicious. 🤤

This is one of those meals that makes great leftovers (if there are any), and it’s kid-approved! If you try it, let me know what you think. Do you have your own spin on this classic? Drop your tweaks in the comments – I’m always down to upgrade a recipe! 📝👇