Individual Chicken & Rice Casseroles

I found this recipe one night while I was trying to find inspiration for dinner.

You can find it here.

I did make some small changes.

First, I had asparagus on hand but not broccoli so I used that.  Secondly, I used canned chicken for the meat instead of turkey.  Third I omitted the oil and just used olive oil spray and broth to cook.  Fourth, I put the oven on 425 instead of 375.  Fifth, in addition to the garlic powder it called for, I used 2 cloves of fresh pressed garlic.  Finally I used Greek cream cheese instead of regular low fat cream cheese.  It's something I've been wanting to try and it was a good excuse as any to try it out on this recipe today.

This recipe was another good excuse to use my cook little individual crocks that my friend Tia bought for me.

Thanks Tia!



Ingredients

1 1/2 cups worth of asparagus(I ended up using one bunch from the grocery store)

1 cup of chopped onion

1 cup of cooked wild rice(or rice of your choice)

1 cup skim milk

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

4 oz of light cream cheese(or Greek yogurt cream cheese)

1/2 tsp garlic + 2 cloves fresh pressed garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups chopped chicken breast

1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

broth of choice

cooking spray


Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Place the rinsed asparagus whole on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
Roast for  12 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  Then chop them into bite sized pieces.

Spray 4 mini casserole dishes with cooking spray.

Use broth to cook onion in a non-stick skillet on medium high heat until soft and cooked well done.

Add in fresh garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

The red tube above is my garlic peeler.  These are so easy to use!

The original directions say to remove the vegetables from the pan and set them aside at this point however I did not do this.

To the same skillet, add in the milk and flour, whisking constantly until the flour is dissolved and the mixture starts to thicken, about 1 minute.

Add in the cream cheese and cook for 3 minutes or until the cheese is dissolved.

Next add in garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Stir.

Add in the chicken, rice and asparagus and stir well.

Divide evenly into individual ramekins or crocks that hold one cup.

Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of cheddar cheese on each one.

Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This makes 4 servings and comes out to 8 pts a piece omitting the olive oil as I have above.  


I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS RECIPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is so insanely delicious!  I'm so happy with how this turned out!

Next time I will add a few mushrooms, a little more black pepper and maybe a pinch of cayenne but overall this recipe is a 10 in my book.

I hope you'll give this a try.  It's well worth your time.

Happy Cooking!