A Recipe Blog

Another result of fun-in-the-kitchen experimentation. An original recipe that worked out very well, if I do say so myself! Has a big tick from my Mum & Dad, who had it with me for lunch. Note: We managed to eat it all before I remembered to take a photo with the cheese on top >_< But you can imagine, right? :-P :-)

Ingredients (Serves 3-4 – can be prepared the day before and heated in oven later)

• 200g shitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1 250g packet of Uncle Ben’s Wholegrain Mediterranean Express Rice (see note below for other options)
• 250g of chicken, sliced into thin strips
• 1 can of pureed tomatoes
• 2 tsp butter
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp season-all (I used Masterfoods brand)
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dill, finely chopped (I used Masterfoods brand)
• 1 tsp basil leaves, finely chopped (I used Masterfoods brand)
• 1.5 cups of frozen-fresh grated pizza cheese (I used Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus Cheese)
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Lightly spray a fry pan with oil and lightly brown the chicken strips all over on medium-low heat, stir occasionally and seasoning with dill and season-all.
3. In the meantime, heat the express rice for 90 secs and put aside.
4. Put cooked chicken aside. Spread cooked rice onto the bottom of a deep casserole dish with a lid.
5. Fry shitake mushrooms with the butter and 1 tsp salt over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
6. When mushrooms are browned, pour in tomato puree and add remaining salt, pepper and basil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
7. Take tomato mixture off heat. Add chicken and stir, then pour over rice in casserole dish.
8. Pour all of the stock into the casserole dish and mix well.
9. Top the casserole with pizza cheese, spread out evenly to cover the whole dish.
10. Place lid over casserole dish, and cook in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.
11. Serve, with a light salad if desired.

Note

Instead of the packet of Uncle Ben’s Wholegrain Mediterranean Express Rice, you can use another kind of tomato-flavoured rice (e.g., tomato & basil instant rice), or just plain brown rice.

Tags: chicken, gluten free, oven baked, pan fried, rice