What Are We Eating Wednesday? Veggie Chicken and Rice Bake

It seems there are about a zillion variations of chicken and rice. I have a few that are standbys for easy fixes. When we came home with Karsie, some good friends brought us a delicious version that was so tasty I had to get the recipe from her. She has graciously allowed me to share that recipe with you!
In order to keep this standout Chicken and Rice recipe unique from others, I have dubbed it "Veggie Chicken and Rice."

Ingredients
2 cans chicken broth
2 c. rice variety of choice (long grain works well)
1 c. sliced carrots
1 c. sliced celery
1/2 c. sour cream
2 cooked & cubed (or shredded) chicken breast
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup (golden mushroom soup is a delicious variety)
1 stack of ritz (or whatever kind you like) crackers
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 c. butter sliced thinly

Preheat oven @ 350*.
Boil rice in chicken broth until liquid is almost evaporated (leave a little liquid to keep everything moist).

Cook your chicken. You don't have to do it in a skillet... you can boil it or bake it or pull it off a rotisserie... whatever your preference!

Mix rice with veggies, chicken and soups. Place in casserole dish.

Top with crunched up crackers, sliced almonds and butter slices. I didn't use almonds tonight... but they sure are tasty on this dish!

Bake for 30 min.

One of the things I love about this recipe (and all chicken and rice recipes) is how versatile it is! You could add as many veggies as you like, you can use club crackers or saltine crackers, or whatever you have in your pantry. The same goes for the rice, if you have instant rice, you don't even need to precook the rice! Just mix everything together and bake for 35 min and the rice will soften during the baking. You can use whatever kind of nuts you have, or you don't have to use them if you don't have them! The soups can be interchanged depending on your taste as well (this time I used chicken & mushroom, chicken, and mushroom with roasted garlic).

Enjoy!