Thrifty Thursday: Mama Dip's Sunday Chicken Casserole

You have GOT to try this! It is absolutely my favorite chicken casserole! This is a Mama Dip's recipe. She has a (if you are not familiar) restaurant in Chapel Hill (not my favorite place...hehe). My husband and I are going through the "1000 Places to See" book and attempting to go to as many place in the book as we can. Mama Dip's is on that list so, of course, we have been there and came home with a cookbook. This chicken casserole is creamy and delicious. If you try this, I am pretty positive that you will add it to your recipe box. AND, it will cost around $7.95. You could also do a 9x13 pan or 2 8x8 with the same amount of chicken breast (just cut them up...no one will ever know) and double the rest of the indredients which are really cheap.

4 chicken breasts
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
1 tsp instant chicken broth granules (or 1 cube disolved in the 3/4 cup of water or you can just use a cup of chicken broth/stock)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small box wild rice or 1 cup uncooked white rice (cooked according to package)
1 cup grated mozzarella

Cook the rice according to the package directions (I buy whichever is the cheapest). While the rice is cooking, soak the fillets in a little salt and cold water for about 10 minutes. Then, pat them as dry as you can get them with a paper towel. In a frying pan, melt the butter, but do NOT brown (low heat). Place the chicken in the pan and let cook on medium heat until they appear done (about 10 minutes). While the chicken is cooking grease a 8x8 square pan and spread the rice in the bottom of the pan. Remove the chicken in the pan and let rest. Using a wire whisk, stir the flour into the butter in the frying pan. Then, add the sour cream while whisking. Continue to whisk while adding the water and the instand broth. Add the mushrooms (if I buy fresh, I usually saute them in some EVOO until they have a golden brown finish). Let this sauce simmer for 8 minutes. Place the chicken (you can cut up the chicken a bit if you want) on top of the rice and pour the sauce on top. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 mintues.

I should also note that I add a couple of cloves of garlic (minced) to the butter while it is melting in the pan. I just didn't put it in the list of ingredients because I wanted to keep it true to Mama Dip's recipe. I don't, however, add onions which normally I would. I love the texture of it without onions.