Chicken-Wild Rice Supreme (Southern Living 1979)

This recipe isn't pretty, but it was good.  When I read the instructions for making Chicken-Wild Rice Supreme, I knew that I would have to change things slightly just to be able to have this dish ready for us to eat at a decent time.  I've said before that as a working mom, I'm looking for dishes that don't take a long time to make once I'm finally home with all three kids in tow.

I had a box of Rice-A-Roni long grain and wild rice mix already in my pantry before Audry picked out this recipe for us.  "According to package directions", it would take 25 to 30 minutes to prepare the long grain and wild rice mix.  I knew that time plus doing the rest of the recipe with a 30 minute bake time would not make this a viable recipe for a weeknight unless I prepared the rice the night before.  So, I did that and boiled about a pound of chicken to ensure I would have at least two cups.  The Rice-A-Roni mix was only a 4.2 ounce box, but I thought it would be fine for us, which it was. 

Chicken-Wild Rice Supreme
1 (4.2 ounce) package long grain and wild rice mix
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup water
1 t salt
Dash of pepper
2 to 2-1/2 cups cubed chicken

Prepare rice mix according to package directions the night before.
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Spray heavy saucepan with butter cooking spray.  Saute the chopped onion and cook until transparent.
Add flour, and cook 1 minute.
Gradually add whole milk and water; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.  This took probably less than 6 minutes for me. 
Stir in salt and pepper.  Add rice and chicken.
Spoon into a lightly sprayed casserole dish.  Bake at 425F for approximately 25 minutes or until bubbly.

We all liked this, but we all thought it had too many onions.  That was my mistake, because I didn't measure 1/3 cup.  I, um, accidentally chopped up half of a kind-of big sweet onion and put all of that in the saucepan.  So, I had no problem with the kids (and adults) taking a few of the onions out of each serving. Next time, I would just skip the onions completely.  That's just because of my family's tastes.  I put it in there this time, just for us all to try.

Even with the onions, this recipe was enjoyed by everyone in the family, which makes it a definite winner.  With my tweaks, it was do-able for a weeknight meal.

Lindy