Forgotten Chicken. Remember that?
That was not a joke. Forgotten chicken is a real thing and I’m asking you if you seriously remember it. I don’t, but Bjork does. And he mentioned it the other day, how much he ironically remembered and loved and missed having Forgotten Chicken as a kid.
I thought I should do a nice wife thing and make it for him. It was also a nice self thing:
- There was enough for every meal all week. NO MORE COOKING! I mean, woops. I mostly do like to cook.
- It forced me to make my own homemade condensed cream of chicken soup, which was easy and wonderful and I’ll do it again, possibly forever.
- It was so customizable. I could have even added vegetables. Could. Have.
- It was intensely cozy and comforting.
Raw chicken shot? Doin’ it.
And now you know how to do the complex step of laying the chicken breasts over the rice mixture and lightly sprinkling them with your favorite seasoning, preferably southwest hickory or chipotle flavored. Like I said, com-plex.
One thing to know. This yummy stuff needs to bake for a loooong time.
That’s sort of sad if you live in the Philippines, but really happy if you live anywhere else. Except, like, Mexico or something.
It’s worth the wait. Go watch TV. Read a book. Put your feet up and dream about making salted maple pecan pie bars again, for the fifth time this month. As in it’s like, December 5th. And if you DO live in the Philippines or Mexico or any other warm-ish place, just turn your fans to Level Three. You’ll soon be lost in a big bowl of this goodness so don’t even worry about it.
You’re probably wondering if it’s worth venturing into the hot oven around 00:45:00 to remove the foil, even though your face will start dripping off and you will probably burn your hand? Yes, it is. Oh wait, you guys use real potholders instead of dishtowels? SMART.
Anyways, take that foil offa there because the top gets crunchy and browned and crispy when it’s left uncovered. And I’m telling you, I couldn’t love that golden browned crispified top layer more.
And then, like a true casserole lover, smother it with cheese or sour cream or something really bad for you.
No, it doesn’t have to be bad for you.
But actually yes it does, because it’s delicious.
I inlcluded the instructions for yesterday’s homemade condensed cream of chicken soup in this recipe, so if you follow these instructions you’ll already be making your own! If you want to use canned cream of chicken soup, there is a note about that in the ingredient list, too.
- 2½ cups chicken broth (I used 2 cans)
- 1½ cups milk
- ¾ cup flour
- 1 tablespoon seasoning mix for the condensed soup (or ½ tsp. onion powder, ½ tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. parsley)
- Optional: sub 2 cans cream of chicken soup for the ingredients above
- 1 ½ cups uncooked brown rice, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons seasoning mix of your choice for the flavor of the casserole – my favorite was a smoked hickory southwestern seasoning
- 1 cup water
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Make the condensed soup: combine the chicken broth and ½ cup of the milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a low boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the flour and seasonings into the milk until a smooth, thick mixture forms. Pour the flour and milk mixture into the saucepan over low heat and stir continuously, whisking as the mixture simmers. Continue to simmer and stir/whisk until the mixture is smooth and thick, 5-10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 9-inch square baking dish – it really sticks to the sides.
- In a large bowl, combine the uncooked rice, condensed soup from step 1, 1 tablespoon seasoning, and water. Pour into prepared dish.
- Arrange chicken pieces over the top and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of seasoning.
- Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove foil; bake for an additional 30-45 minutes or until rice and chicken are cooked through and top is slightly browned. Allow to cool for 15 minutes; shred chicken into small pieces and stir to combine with the rice. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or shredded cheese.
Have I made this in the Crockpot yet? Sadly, no. Only 23 times in the oven.
But it seems like a very wise thing to do.
I’ll keep you posted.
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More from Pinch of Yum
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Your writing literally makes me laugh out loud.
This is a FAVORITE childhood winter meal – I should definitely make it sometime soon.
I love comforting casseroles like this one. Yea, they’re not the most healthy, but who cares? They’re delicious, and perfect when you want to feel warm, cozy, and loved. Can’t wait to try this one!
I can’t imagine Christmas someplace warm. I love the cold weather and snow too much!
Any casserole recipe where you don’t have to cook the chicken first is well worth the extra cooking time! (I’m incredibly lazy.)
This looks so yummy and comforting. Perfect for a cold winter’s day. I will be trying this soon!
Oh yum! I unfortunately do not remember this from childhood either but I WILL remember it from my adulthood
Totally making this next week.
I love casserole too! They just make life and cooking so easy!
That looks very very tasty, the older I get the more I become a fan of casserole dishes!
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Only, should I be worried about putting raw chicken atop dry rice? It seems like the sort of thing Chef Ramsay would yell at you for, though I can’t say why, exactly.
How you manage to make even chicken and rice look like the Queen of Sheba is beyond me. You got skeelzs.
Thanks girl!
I’ve never heard of forgotten chicken… but this casserole looks amazing! I have a feeling my boyfriend would love it.
This looks like the perfect weeknight meal with leftovers! I am always looking for a dish I can make and eat in my lunch at work or on a busy night. I like that it doesn’t use any condensed soup! Delicious.
I love this. The humor. The recipe. All. Of. It. Nice work! Can’t wait to try it!! =)
Delicious, delicious, delicious!
My husband loves meals like this…and I do love chicken and rice casserole, especially using your homemade condensed soup from yesterday!
It’s 8:45 in the morning and I am already looking forward to making this for dinner tonight! As long as Target sells brown rice, I’m making this tonight!!!!!! EXCITED!!!!
Oh my gosh Lindsay… this seriously looks amazing! I’m already dreaming of eating it. I have no idea what forgotten chicken is, but I’m so glad you guys remembered it so that this would be created!!
I could use a comforting dish like this right now! Looks great!
I am totally throwing this in the crockpot!
How did it turn out in the crockpot? I made it once in the oven and loved it, but using a crockpot would definitely make my life a lot easier!
I actually have heard of Forgotten Chicken before, but I’ve never made it. Seems like a good recipe to have on hand for a busy mom like myself. I do not eat chicken, but my kids are huge fans of both chicken and rice, so this would be perfect for them.
Great chicken dish! I have to make this soon.
I made this last night… So yummy and comforting! As the snow falls, at least about 7 inches so far, it is nice to know we’ll be heating this up! It is actually looking quite like a “winter wonderland” !
Sarah
I heard there was lots of snow coming to MN! I miss it!! Hope you can get out and enjoy it a little bit (and then come in and warm up with something yummy)! By the way, guess what I found at a little store here in Cebu? B.T. Mcelrath Salty Dog Chocolate Bars!!!!!
Being a Midwestern girl, it’s required to love casseroles! Especially super easy ones like this…
I made this last week, as is, and it was great. So great, in fact, that my husband requested it again this week. I made it last night, but tweeked it to have a Mexican flair, and it was great again. Added some veggies and some different spices. I blogged about it over at my page(hope you don’t mind). http://beautifultastyfun.blogspot.com/2012/12/mexican-insipred-chicken-and-rice.html
Thanks for letting me know! Glad you liked it. I love the Mexican twist!
Loving the one dish dinners lately, thanks for this one!
Made this for my kids last night, halving the recipe. They ate the entire pan! I used a homemade seasoning blend and canned cream of chicken soup. All three said it was delicious. One added cheese, one added sour cream and one ate it plain. Guess it’s great anyway you choose! Thanks for the super quick and easy, one pan dinner Lindsay. I even mixed the soup and rice in the casserole dish, less to clean up!
Perfect! Glad you liked it!
Hi,
I made it the exact same way you describe (canned soup, mix in casserole dish)….and it tasted delicious, but not all of the rice cooked
, so it was a bit….crunchy. I even made it again a few weeks later, but the same thing happened. I think the only thing i neglected in the recipe was rinsing the rice…..could that be it? Most of the rice ended up cooked but there was definitely some uncooked pieces in every bite.
Any suggestions? I’d love to make it again, with fully cooked rice
-Elizabeth
Yes, I would suggest adding more liquid, like another 1/2 cup of water or broth before you start baking it. It does take a really long time to bake, so maybe baking it a little longer to give the rice more time to cook would help. Did you cover it with foil while baking? I would suggest that, too. And I usually do rinse my rice although I’m not sure if that would have made the difference or not. Bottom line: more liquid!
Good luck!
This sounds RIDICULOUSLY delicious! It’s definitely a recipe I want to try soon. One question though. What other seasonings do you recommend for the casserole? I’m not used to using store bought seasonings… Maybe something with an Asian or creole flair? Or just something spicier?
Creole would be awesome. I used a Mexican-type spice mix like chili power, cumin, cayenne, chipotle… My vote is for some kind of spicy southwest blend but that’s because I love Mexican food! If you want to keep it really simple, just use onion and garlic powder with some salt, similar to an onion soup mix. Like this. http://angelaskitchen.com/2011/04/13/make-your-own-homemade-onion-soup-mix/
Have you ever tried freezing this? My sister is having a baby today, and I was thinking of making this to put in their freezer, I’m just not sure the best way to do it.
I think I would freeze it after baking (so it already cooked) and add a little more water or broth to the whole thing so it doesn’t get dry.
I don’t have a 9-inch pan. Is there something else I can use to bake this?
You could use a 9×13, just adjust the baking time so it doesn’t dry out. It will be in a thinner layer so it will bake a little faster.
I tried this today, and it turned out great! Okay, I actually changed your recipe a bit based on what I had on hand, but it still worked quite well by following your format. The condensed soup part was mainly all I changed; I used almond milk and ground flax seed instead of milk and flour in my condensed soup, plus I added a bit of butter to thicken it up. I used chicken thigh instead of breasts, and added some finely chopped bell pepper and carrot. I let it cook at 300 for 2 1/2 hours while I was at church,and when I came home, it was perfectly cooked! We ate it with salsa, sour cream, cheese, and chips. Thanks for an awesome base recipe; I will be going back to this one again and again!
I tried this last night. For some reason mine had quite a bit (at least a quarter) of undercooked rice and if I would have cooked longer it would have been really dry. Not sure what I did wrong because I even soaked the brown rice for a little while anticipating it might undercook otherwise. Any suggestions?
Bummer! If you use the same rice a condensed soup next time, I’d just add extra water. i havent tried this, but you could also try doing it in the rice cooker so that the rice gets fully cooked.
I was wondering if anyone has made this with adding vegetables in it?
I’m thinking some broccoli and mushrooms. I am just wondering if I would add them in the mixture at the beginning, or maybe mix them with the rice when I take the foil off? Just not sure….any thoughts or suggestions?
I just thought I would let you know that I found this recipe via pinterest! And this recipe has been a complete pinterest win!! We have made this several times in a few different ways and it has turned out perfect each time. Thank you so much for sharing!
Great! So glad to hear it Erin.
My husband and I are working in Zambia, Africa right now, so I’m always on the hunt for recipes without can-of-whatever soup. In the States, this is one of our favorites, so I’m looking forward to indulging tonight (it’s just waiting to go in the oven)!
This is the first time I’ve been to your blog (I just Googled “chicken and brown rice casserole”), and I was SO excited to find this recipe with ingredients I have on hand AND to see that you’re from Mpls (your husband’s name is a dead giveaway) AND that you’re working at CSC!!! I’m from MN, and my family is distantly related to Marlys and Paul, and my sister worked as a nurse there for a year in 2003. What a small world! Thanks for the recipe!
What???? That’s unbelievable! What a cool connection! I can’t wait to tell them.