Slow Cooker CHEESY Chicken and Rice... EASY Peasy

COLD... REALLY COLD today in the Cul de Sac.  Which for me usually means I would like a steaming bowl of soup.

This recipe actually makes me ponder where to draw the line between a soup and a casserole dish.  Sort of like a Cajun jambalaya, this is right in the middle.  It starts with a cream of mushroom soup base.  It also has more than a couple of cups of chicken stock.  It looks very soupy right before you add the cheese...

BUT...

It looks right at home in a soup bowl (above), BUT, it sits nicely on a dinner plate held together with all that cheesy goodness without the confines of a bowl.

Ah well, let's agree to call it a very thick cheesy soup!  And enjoy a bowl of warming comfort on a cold cold day...

This dish was inspired from one I found on Pinterest, from Christy Jordan's Southern Plate blog.  Follow the blue letters to see the link to Christy's original recipe.  I made mine with a roux/cream of mushroom soup vs an easy quick can.  I added more cheese and seasonings, I used a can of creamed corn.  Christy also made hers with boneless skinless raw chicken which cooked up marvelously in the crock pot.  I of course used my beloved store bought, fully cooked, fully seasoned Rotisserie Chicken!

Here's what I did...

Slow Cooker CHEESY Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

• Set your Slow Cooker on HIGH this will take about 3 Hours...
• 4 TBS Butter
• 4 TBS Flour
• 1 Medium Onion, Sliced and quartered
• 1/2 Cup Half and Half
• 1 Cup Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 -8 ounce box Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix
• 2-1/2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1 -15 ounce can Creamed Corn
• 2 Cups Grated Cheese, Good Melting Cheese, I used 1 Cup Smoked Cheddar and 1 Cup Swiss
• 1/2 Store Bought, pre-cooked, pre-seasoned Rotisserie Chicken (1 Breast quarter, 1 Leg/Thigh quarter), meat removed from bones and diced
• 1 TBS Dried Herbs, I used a Savory herbes de Provence mix
• Several turns of a pepper grinder To taste. Add Salt if needed
• A pinch Paprika for color

Cooking Directions

1. First, make a Roux... In a large Saute pan, over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the Flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes.
2. Add the Onions and stir for another five minutes until the onions begin to soften.
3. Add the Half and Half and stir to mix. Heat to simmer
4. Add the mushrooms and continue to simmer for a minute.
5. Move this condensed mushroom soup (can substitute a can of Cream of mushroom soup) to the crock pot.
6. Add the Chicken Stock and box of Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix. Stir everything and close up the lid on the crock pot, set on high and leave alone for 3 hours.
7. After three hours, the rice is cooked and the soup has thickened. Add the Corn, Cheese and Chicken, dried herbs and pepper and stir.
8. Allow to cook for 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the chicken has heated.
9. Taste and season as needed. I use salted chicken stock and the rotisserie chickens are usually cooked with a salt brine, plus the Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix has plenty of seasonings, so salt carefully.
10. Garnish with a pinch of paprika to add color,
11. Serve HOT and ENJOY!

This made a wonderful weeknight meal in itself.  It also made lunch for just me for a few days and was a perfect comfort meal!

And of course the Rotisserie Chicken makes this easy to make. Making this one of my favorite additions to my "52 Uses For a Rotisserie Chicken"! So many layers of flavors, defined COMFORT FOOD!

What could be easier and tastier?

And maybe not as much of an "Of Course", but I am going to file this as a soup, chili or chowder somehow and make it a terrific addition to me list of "52 Recipes for Soup, Chowder and Chili". (work in progress, but I have a way more than half posted already)

And if you think you might want to give this dish a try yourself (very easy), please take a minute and "Pin" it to your Pinterest Boards. And if you want to see more of my Rotisserie Chicken Recipes, feel free to join the fun and Follow me...