The Busy Gourmand

This falls under our new category called mélange cooking.  It combines pre-cooked items from earlier meals into a new dish.  In this case I had some roasted chicken breasts and some rice left from earlier meals in the week.  I found some artichokes in the freezer and with a little bit of imagination it turned into a casserole.  Like all such recipes this should be used as a guideline.  If you do not have the artichokes I am guessing that some frozen peas or other frozen vegetables would work just as well.

• 2 cups cooked chicken in 1/2 inch dice
• 3/4 cup cooked rice
• 1 package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, black pepper to taste
• 1/2 chopped onion, red preferred
• 4 oz grated cheese, use a good cheese for melting, cheddar, mozzarella etc.
• 2 oz grated parmigiano reggiano

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a sauce pan melt the butter over medium high heat, add the onion, reduce the heat and saute the onions for about 5 minutes.  Add the flour and stir forming a roux.  Allow to cook for a minute or two.  Add the chicken stock, stir, and allow to thicken.  This may take up to 10 minutes.

In a mixing bowl combine the chicken, the rice, the artichoke hearts, and the 4 oz of grated melting cheese.  Add the mixture to a buttered casserole dish.  Pour the liquid over the top of the mixture in the casserole.  Sprinkle the top with the parmigiano reggiano cheese.  Cover the casserole and place in the oven for 15 minutes.  Remove the cover from the casserole and bake an additional 15 minutes.  I find that it is best to let a casserole rest covered for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.