The overwhelming response to my Bags To Dishes series continues, so I’m bringing you more recipes like Ma’s Chicken and Rice Bake! These shelf stable recipes can ensure you never have to wonder what’s for supper again – and will help prevent huge bills at fast food drive throughs, too.
Today’s meal has one of my family’s favorite ingredients :Yellow Saffron Rice. My husband and kids just love this stuff. It must be a Jordan thing because last year all of the Jordans (Georgia side and Alabama side) got together for a weekend in a big old cabin in the mountains and we all brought different things to cook. When I pulled out the package of yellow rice, my niece and nephew’s eyes got big as dollars and my niece said “OH you brought the GOOD stuff!”. So yeah, this is a regular ingredient in our food rotation.
Ma’s Rice and Veggie Bake is easy to throw together and a meal in one. You can easily customize it, though. Leave the chicken out, leave out the veggies, add more veggies or only the kind you like, and even make your own homemade cheese sauce if you don’t want to reach for the can (But don’t feel bad if you reach for the can because that is what I do!).
When you buy the ingredients, though, make sure you buy enough to make several of these bag meals. When combined with the other bag meal recipes I’ve brought you so far, we are getting close to a whole months worth of back up meals already!
Are y’all hungry? I sure am. Let’s get cooking!
In your bag, you’ll place: Can of chicken, Can of veggies (or dehydrated veggies*), can of cheese soup (or recipe for homemade cheese sauce), small can of evaporated milk, a large package of yellow saffron rice, and a copy of this recipe. Exact measurements are at the bottom of this post.
*I prefer dehydrated veggies because I like their flavor better than canned but I wanted to show at least a recipe or two with canned since I know a lot of y’all may not have a dehydrator. Another ideal is frozen, but this takes this from a completely shelf stable meal to a partially shelf stable meal, which is fine. If you decide to use frozen get a ten ounce bag or so and cook them in a bit of boiling water until heated through, then drain and proceed with recipe as written.
You can also have top this with cheese if you like, just before removing from the oven. You’ll need about a cup or so but that is optional, too.
To season this, you’ll need salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Actually, all of these are optional. Sometimes I add them, sometimes I don’t. Go with your mood on this one. Keep in mind that the Saffron rice is pretty well seasoned as is. If you decide to go rogue and use white rice, you’ll want to amp up the seasonings a good bit according to your taste.
Cook rice according to package directions in a pot large enough to add everything else (no sense in dirtying up a bowl). Once rice is cooked, drain veggies and chicken and toss those in along with evaporated milk, cheese soup, and seasonings.
Stir that up really good.
Place in an 8×8 casserole dish – or whatever you grab first that is oven proof.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Or until bubbly. Top with cheese, if desired, and cook 5 minutes more.
EAT!
Be sure you check out my original Bags to Dishes post to learn more about these meals and how you can adapt your family’s favorite recipes to be shelf stable. Also, take a gander at the other Bags to Dishes recipes I’ve shared!
Ingredients
- 10 ounce Package Yellow Saffron Rice the size that makes 5, 1 cup servings
- 10-12 ounce can of chicken whichever size you have
- 10 ounce can Cheddar Soup or homemade cheese sauce recipe
- 4 ounce can evaporated milk
- 14 ounce can mixed veggies
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded cheddar for topping optional
Instructions
To assemble bag meal: Place rice package along cans of chicken, milk, soup, and veggies in a large 2 gallon zipper seal bag along with a copy of this recipe.
To make:
- Cook rice according to package directions. Drain chicken and veggies.
- Stir all ingredients into warm, cooked rice. Spoon into greased 8x8 casserole dish.
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Top with cheese, if desired, and bake another 5 minutes more. Serve warm.
Nutrition
This post was originally posted in 2014 but I updated the photos and post in 2020.
This post featured in Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck!
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