Chicken and Rice Casserole - a 30-minute meal

It's not fancy - it's COMFORT FOOD!

It all started out with a hankering.

Now, you have to know that if you have a hankering for something, it's not going to be something highbrow. No one hankers for escargot or seared scallops. No, you hanker for tater tot casserole or hot dish or 7-layer dip.

I was thinking that I wanted that chicken with cream-of-something soup. Maybe made in the slow cooker.

So I browsed for recipes and realized that I didn't have enough slow time for the slow cooker. But then I saw recipes that cooked in the oven. Well, okay then. A storm had just rolled through, so it was cool enough to turn on the oven.

I kept one eye on the clock while I worked on a few blog things. The average cooking time for the recipes I saw was about 45 minutes in the oven and maybe a 10 minute rest. I figured I'd give myself extra time, just in case it wasn't done in time. Or if I wanted photos.

I envisioned a thin layer of melted cheese, just for the fun of it. I figured I could cook the thing covered for 40 minutes, check the chicken temperature, add just a little tiny sprinkle of cheese, and then cook for another 5 minutes uncovered to let the cheese melt and maybe crisp the top a little.

It was all going swimmingly well. I dug out the 9x13 casserole I wanted to use and found ingredients and turned on the oven to preheat. I had just bought a couple bags of a frozen mirepoix mixture - one regular (carrots, onion and celery) and one Cajun (onion, celery, and green pepper), and I figured one of those would be nice in the rice. I grabbed the regular one.

The dice on the mirepoix wasn't as small as I'd have done if I was cutting, but it was fine for this purpose. I'm not sure if I'll buy it again, though. We'll see.

And then I looked at the oven to see how the preheating was doing and glanced at the oven clock and UH OH! Somebody stole a whole hour from me.

Grrrr. I had riced mixed with soup and water in the pan and I had the mirepoix bag cut open and chicken waiting for me ... and NOW WHAT?

I really didn't want to eat dinner an hour late, and although I could have scrambled some eggs, at this point I had mixed enough that I felt like I was committed to making this recipe. And then I did the thing that I thought I'd never do. I cooked the whole danged thing in the microwave.

And ... it was actually good. I needed to adjust flavorings at the end, but the recipe below has ths corrected amounts. As far as the cooking, it was fine. Not weird at all.

Of course, if you know how to read a clock, you could make this in the oven and figure about 45 minutes of cooking time, covered, at 375 degrees.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

1 cup jasmine rice (or other white rice like basmati)
1 10 1/2 ounce can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom or celery)
1 soup can full of water
1/2 teaspoon salt*
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 12 ounce bag frozen mirepoix mix (or frozen mixed vegetables)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mix the rice, soup, water, salt, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, and mirepoix mix in a microwavable casserole dish. Mine was a 9x13, but a 9-inch square or round should be fine, as long as it all fits.

Cover with microwavable plastic wrap (I had one brand that tended to melt, so make sure yours is okay in the microwave) or cover with some other microwaveable cover. Cook for 10 minutes on high.

PLEASE keep in mind that microwaves vary in power, so you might need to adjust your cooking time. But this should get you close.

While the rice is cooking, cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes of somewhat even size.

When the 10 minutes are up, remove the pan from the microwave carefully. Peel back the plastic wrap (or remove the lid) very carefully. Steam burns are pretty awful, so vent it away from you and make sure your hands are enclosed in mitts or are well out the way.

If you want to taste for seasoning now, you can do so. The rice will be crunchy, but you'll get an idea of what the flavor will be.

Add the chicken, stir to combine, and cover again. Microwave for another 15 minutes, stopping about midway in the cooking process to stir again. Since we're cooking in a microwave, the center portion will be less cooked than the outer portion, so consider that when stirring.

When time is up, take a peek to make sure the chicken is cooked through and the rice is no longer crunchy. Most of the liquid should be absorbed. If you prefer it saucier, stir in a little hot water. If it needs more cooking, give it another stir and let it cook for another few minutes.

Taste for seasoning, and add more salt, if desired.

Serve hot, and don't admit that you cooked this in the microwave. A sprinkle of chopped parsley or chives adds some green freshness and makes the dish a bit more festive.

*Yes, I know that chicken soup has a lot of sodium ... for soup. But it's not quite salty enough for a cup of uncooked rice, 3/4 pound of vegetables, and three chicken breasts. If you fear that this will be oversalted, omit the salt at the beginning, and taste it at the end of cooking time and adjust, if need be.

French Toast - microwaved in a mug

The other day, I received the book Mug Meals, and it got me thinking. There was a recipe for French toast cooked in a mug, but it called for a sturdy bread like challah (which I didn't have), along with fresh berries (which are out of season). But I liked the idea.

While I don't mind making French toast for the two of us, it seems like a lot of mess when I'm making it just for me. I figured that making it in a mug would cut down on the number of things I'd need to wash. Or at least they'd be smaller, right?

I plan on reviewing Mug Meals later, after I've had a chance to actually try a few recipes. But for now, here's my Mug Meals inspired French toast.

French Toast in a Mug

1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk or cream
Pinch of salt
2 slices bread, cut into cubes

You'll need a fairly large microwave-safe mug for this. I used one that was allegedly a soup mug. A regular coffee mug might be enough for 1 slice of bread.

Put the butter in your chosen mug and melt on high in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs, milk, and salt together in a small bowl. It doesn't need to be frothy - just combined. If you want your French toast to be even softer and more custardy, you can add more milk or cream - up to about 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) but I suggest that you try with 2 tablespoons to start, and see what you think.

When the butter is melted, add the bread cubes, then pour the egg mixture over the bread, making sure to drizzle it over all the cubes. If some are still a little dry, press them down into the mug to get them soaked in the egg mixture.

Cover the mug. I use a silicone lid from GIR, but you could use anything that's microwave-safe. The idea is to retain the heat and keep from splatting eggs inside your microwave.

Cook for 2-3 minutes at medium power.. You'll need to check the first time you do this, so you know how much time you really need - and it depends how custardy or firm you want the finished product. It will be more cooked around the edges and less cooked in the center, so stick a spoon in there and see what it looks like. If it needs more time, cook a little longer.

Leave the mug covered for another minute before you eat. For one thing, it's hotter than heck, so you don't want to eat it just yet. And for another, this lets it finish cooking all the way through. You know how microwaves sometimes don't heat evenly? Yep, this helps the heat even out.

Once you've figured out exactly how long you need to cook, you won't need to stop and check, as long as you're using the same mug and similar ingredients.

Top with butter and/or maple syrup. Or whatever you normally put on your French toast. Eat with a spoon.

You can certainly add other ingredients to the egg batter - vanilla or cinnamon or nutmeg would be nice. But since this is a quick breakfast for me, I go with the basics most of the time.

Microwave Buttery Buttermilk Cornbread

My friend Carla from Good Cook called me up one day and said, "I'm going to send you a microwave bowl. Can you bake bread in the microwave with it?"

And I said, well, I don't know, but it's not going to get brown. But lemme see what I can think of.

I considered making a microwave cake, like a mug cake, but bigger.

But then someone on Facebook was talking about cornbread, and I saw someone on Food Network serve a piece of microwave cornbread, and I figured, yeah, that would be good for dinner.

There must be a bazillion recipes for cornbread, right? I decided I didn't want something too sweet. I considered adding cheese or jalapenos. I hoped this would fit in the bowl.

Most of the time, it takes a couple tries before I get something exactly right, but I have to say I really liked this just the way it was. It's really buttery, so I hope you like butter. And it's fluffy and light rather than dense.

Needless to say, I used the bowl I got from Good Cook, but a similar-sized bowl or baking dish should be just fine.

The cool thing about this bowl is that it's got its own holder that stays cool, and it's got a lid, as well. It would be really handy for reheating soups or sauces.

Microwave Cornbread

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

You might as well make this all in one bowl. Melt the butter in the bowl in the microwave. Don't get it too freakishly hot, because you don't want to cook the egg when you add it. Just get it melted.

Add the buttermilk and egg and stir until it's combined.

Add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Start by stirring the dry stuff to get the baking powder distributed in the flour a bit, then stir it all together.

Put it in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high (depending on the power of your microwave). Stick a toothpick in it, and if it comes out clean, it's done. If it's got wet goo in it, put it back in the microwave and cook for another 15-30 seconds at a time, until it's done. Keep track of how long it cooked, so you know what to do next time.

And that's it. Serve it straight from the bowl. It's really fluffy and a little crumbly when it's warm, but it's pretty darned good. You won't get any browning, but you don't miss it as much as you would on a yeast bread.