Preppy Ladies

I got two cookbooks recently.  Cookbooks from a ladies club in Alexandria, Virginia.  Something along the lines of this.  Wooden Nickels was itching to flip through it so I passed it over to her with a warning, “All you’re going to see are recipes for chicken casseroles with cans of cream of mushroom, a cup of sour cream and a cup of mayonnaise.”  She looked at me doubtfully (commonplace in our lives), and went on her way.

When Wooden Nickels returned with said cookbooks, she admitted the accuracy of my statement.  Yes!  She never does that!

Preps love to cook.  They love to cook casseroles.  They love to cook casseroles with a host of fattening dairy-esque products!  And I made one recently.  It was a beautiful thing.

Casseroles get a bad rap, and I will gladly lead the charge of the Casserole Advocacy Club (CAC?  Can we make that a thing?) and argue that casseroles deserve a spot, often the starring place, on the dinner table.  This one is no exception.  It’s that great chicken marsala, with a side of rice that you didn’t have time to prepare on the spot.  You can prep this whenever you have the time, tuck it in the fridge, and greet it on an evening when all you want to do is throw something in the oven and call it dinner.

To make Marsala Chicken and Mushroom casserole, you will need:

• 2 C shredded, cooked, chicken breast
• 2 T butter
• 10 – 16 oz sliced mushrooms (white or cremini)
• 1 1/2 – 2 T flour
• 1/2 C marsala, or other white, wine
• 1/2 C cream
• 2 tsp. fresh thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1 C long grain rice (uncooked)
• 2 C water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Melt butter in large skillet.  Add mushrooms and cook till softened, about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle in flour and stir till incorporated into mushrooms and butter, about 1 minute.  Add wine and scrape brown bits off bottom of pan.  Stir in cream.  Let those simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.  Stir in water.

Pour rice in casserole dish.  Top with chicken.  Pour mushroom cream sauce on top.    Cover dish tightly with foil and cook for 35 minutes.

At this point, Ray Ray suggests topping with 2 T Parmesan cheese and, and baking, uncovered, 5 more minutes.  2 T of Parmesan over a 9 x 13 casserole is kid stuff.  I dumped a whole bunch over my first dinner serving with no shame.  Do the same!