Chicken and Rice Casserole

Before i do anything, i would just like to say that i am a baker at heart. Even when i make dinner, it’s something that gets baked. haha, anyway…

Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil (or butter)
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
2 (14.5 oz) cans green beans, dried and rinsed
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 (4 oz) jar pimentos
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (6 oz) box long-grain wild rice, cooked according to package directions
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil or butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients to bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.
3. Pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

*Notes:
so—apparently—even if you live in Hawaii, the water chestnuts will be in the “Asian Food” aisle. (i wasn’t even aware we had one of those here…) I couldn’t find the rice they were talking about so i just used long-grain Jasmine rice (it’s one of my favorite rices so why not?) Make sure you’ve cooked the chicken and rice before you start everything else. Also, Jake and I were talking about it and we think that it might be good if we replaced the water chestnuts with a potato, added more cheese, left the pimentos out (i can’t tell what they taste like, i think they might just be there for color) and maybe try kidney beans or corn instead of green beans. it’s a brand new casserole. hehehe.