Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

Jeremy and I tried these a few weeks ago, and it's absolutely DELICIOUS!!! It tasted great the night we made it, and as leftovers (and I'm not much of a leftover person). We'll definitely be making this again!

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole
Adapted from picky-palate.com

© 2012 Jamie V.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced onions (approximately 1/2 - 1 medium onion)
1/2 cup celery, finely diced (approximately 3 stalks celery)
1 cup peeled and diced carrots (approximately 3 carrots)
2 Tbsp fresh minced garlic
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
2 cups steamed white rice
16 ounce prepared wild rice (recipe recommends Trader Joe's, but we just prepared Uncle Ben's wild rice)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic salt

Cheese Sauce:

4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Top with 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat.
3. Saute onion, celery, and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
5. Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper, garlic salt. Reduce heat to low.
6. To prepare cheese sauce, melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
7. Whisk in flour, salt, and pepper. Then, slowly pour in chicken broth, whisking continuously.
8. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling. Stir in cheese until melted.
9. Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture. Transfer to a 9"x13" baking dish.
10. Top with additional cheddar cheese.
11. Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted through.
12. Serve.