Cooking question

burkems

So my mom used to make this delicious chicken & wild rice casserole, so I did a search on allrecipes.com for one yesterday. I came up with a recipe that didn't require ANY cooking before you put it in the oven, just uncooked rice, frozen veggies, soup/water (and some other things) with the raw chicken right on top.

Can you even do that? Isn't that a recipe for some sort of food-borne illness? I mean, I realize that it's baking, so that probably counteracts it, but I feel like any time I've made any casserole or anything I've had to at least brown the protein prior to letting it touch other ingredients. 

BTW, that recipe isn't what I wanted, so if anyone has a recipe for chicken & wild rice casserole, please share. 

justrachet

I always thought you should brown the meat first because it takes longer to cook than veggies. Since it does cook in the oven, I don't see a problem. We put raw meat in the crock pot with other food.

OSUWifey09

I've made chicken and rice casserole - without veggies, though - and put in raw chicken. I cooked it for 45 minutes, and it came out just fine. I've made other chicken and veggie dishes in the oven, and as long as it's all cooked at the right temp for the right amount of time, it shouldn't be an issue.

Nom nom. Chicken and rice. I want some now.

Vikki2pay

I do it all the time without cooking anything. I put seasoned raw chicken 1/2 cup rice 1 cup of broth or water and frozen veggies in a baking dish, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes depending on how big or what kind of chicken I use. Breasts cook quicker than thighs.

burkems

Well, what do you know! This makes my life so much easier....

ashleymvee

Wow I had no idea you could do this...

Vikki* What kind of veggies do you use?  Just a a frozen bag of mixed?

amethyst1220

hmmm, what kind of veggies is everyone using? i'm not a fan of the regular mix (carrots, peas, corn, green beans)... don't know why.

burkems

I use california blend with cauliflower, broccoli and carrots.

justrachet

amethyst1220:

hmmm, what kind of veggies is everyone using? i'm not a fan of the regular mix (carrots, peas, corn, green beans)... don't know why.

When I buy mixed veggies, it's usually either a stir-fry mix or broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. The last time we had chicken and veggies, I didn't have a mix. The only veggies we had available were fresh celery and zucchini and frozen onions, so that's what we used. It was a surprisingly yummy combo (the melted butter, thyme, and minced garlic we poured over it probably contributed to the yumminess).

Vikki2pay

I use whatever kind of veggies that I have, usually broccoli or cauliflower, even peas and carrots.

Its such an easy meal, and not to mention super quick.