This week was one of those weeks…too busy! Activities every night and the last week of school (and therefore work, for me). I needed something quick, would produce awesome leftovers, and that didn’t require any pre-planning. After looking around Pinterest, I found this recipe for Dump and Bake Italian Chicken Rice. It sounded good, but I didn’t want to use canned marinara sauce. My goal is always less processed. So, Chicken and Rice Italian was born!
Because I hadn’t planned ahead, the chicken went into the pan frozen. No big deal! The rice isn’t cooked ahead either. 🙂 Instead, an easy tomato sauce cooks the rice and the chicken together. It is beautiful and time-saving! For those of you who are time-crunched, this is the recipe for you! In less than an hour, I had dinner on the table, and most of the time was baking time. 🙂 I had plenty of time to make a fresh salad, help with homework, and get ready for the nightly activity. It worked well!
My family thought this dish had many of the same flavors of pizza, which due to its Italian nature, is true. However, Chicken and Rice Italian is much more than a new take on pizza. It is a great, filling, casserole that reheats beautifully for leftovers! I can’t say that I’ve ever had any leftover pizza that is as good as when it’s first baked.
The first, and longest, step was to make the five minute tomato sauce. It starts with a quick sauté of onion and garlic in olive oil, followed by a short simmer with added crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. It couldn’t be more simple! If you’ve tried my Clean-Eating Pasta Sauce, you’ll notice this is very similar.
This beautiful sauce is added to a greased 9×13 casserole dish and mixed with dry rice. Frozen chicken tenders are nestled into the sauce, and the entire casserole is covered with foil and baked for 45 minutes. The chicken should test 165°F after this baking time. The rice gets a quick stir around the chicken, and the entire dish is topped with a mixture of shredded mozzarella and freshly grated Parmesan. The dish goes back into the oven long enough to melt the cheese and create an ooey-gooey Italian masterpiece! Yay!
I hope you’ll give Chicken and Rice Italian a try during your busy days. You will be amazed at the transformation of frozen chicken and dry rice! For our family, this is a keeper. Have a blessed weekend and enjoy the time with those you love!
Ingredients
- 2 t. olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 1 T. dried oregano
- 2 t. dried basil
- 1 t. kosher salt
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- 1/2 c. water
- 1 c. basmati (or other long grain) rice
- 6-8 chicken tenders
- 1 T. Italian seasoning
- 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a medium skillet, saute onion in olive oil until softened. Add the minced garlic, stirring until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper, and bring mixture to a simmer. Stir in 1/2 c. water. Stir in rice.
- Lightly grease a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Add tomato and rice mixture to the pan.
- Evenly place the chicken tenders in the casserole, being careful to nestle the chicken down into the sauce so it covers the bottoms and edges of the chicken.
- Sprinkle the Italian seasoning evenly over the chicken pieces.
- Cover the casserole tightly with foil and place into preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- Prepare cheeses while waiting.
- Remove foil, check chicken for doneness (165 F). Lightly stir rice around chicken pieces.
- Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over dish and return to oven until melted, 5-10 minutes.
- Serve.
