Chicken Florentine Rice Bake

This recipe was inspired by Tiffany at Eat at Home!  She posted a recipe for an Italian Chicken and Rice Casserole that sounded delicious.  

I took that idea and ran with it - using what we had in our fridge and freezer to create a make-ahead rice bake.  

Chicken Florentine Rice Bake

1-2 chicken breasts, diced

1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 C brown rice, uncooked
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (15oz) chicken broth
1 C spinach
1/2 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 C shredded Italian cheeses

Begin by dicing up the chicken and cooking it in a large skillet coated with olive oil over medium heat.

Season with garlic powder, and pepper and cook until chicken is browned and cooked through.

Meanwhile, slice up the mushrooms, and lay them in the bottom of a lightly greased 8x8 glass baking dish.

Remove the chicken from the skillet when cooked, and place atop the mushrooms. Sprinkle with parsley.

Then, pour the uncooked brown rice into the skillet.

Add the tomatoes, chicken broth and seasoning.

Bring to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes. Then, add in the spinach. I used frozen.

Simmer until spinach is wilted.

Then, pour into the lightly greased 8x8 baking dish containing the chicken and mushrooms.

There will be lots of excess liquid -- and that's good!

At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the dish until you need it. If you are baking immediately, continue with the directions below.

Preheat the oven to 350. Meanwhile, sprinkle the dish with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for ~45 minutes until the liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and cheese is lightly browned.  

Allow the dish to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Delicious Dishes, Tuesdays at the Table, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, URS