Marguerites Cookbook

A cooking blog all about making vintage recipes from a cookbook we inherited from our grandmother

Chicken in Rice

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Chicken dishes were some of the most plentiful recipes that graced the table during family dinners at Marguerite’s house in my life time. They were most frequently casseroles or plain baked chicken, but Marguerite did lots of chicken recipes. While I don’t remember this chicken in rice recipe from any Sunday dinners with her, I would have enjoyed it a lot.

Chicken in Rice

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

Chicken in Rice recipe

Now there was one thing that did confuse me in this recipe: minute rice. I asked my mom, and found out that Minute Rice was a brand of quick cook rice. Turns out it does still exist, but I decided to go with a 90 second microwave option of another brand instead. Mixing all the ingredients was very simple and this was a very easy recipe to prepare. This was the second recipe where I’ve browned chicken before baking it (the first was the Chicken and Mushrooms recipe). I really like the way the chicken looks and turns out.

Chicken in Rice

I did end up baking this recipe for the entire 40 minutes because I felt that the rice mixture was still too watery after the first 30. I wasn’t sure I was happy after the 40 either, but I was already afraid I had over baked the chicken. After it cooled a bit out of the oven, the mixture thickened and it looked better. I did feel the chicken got a little dry, but it was still tasty. We both like this chicken in rice recipe alright. Shannon felt it was a little too similar to a casserole, but still liked it okay. I enjoyed some of the flavors in the rice mixture. I couldn’t tell exactly which ones I liked the most, but I think it was some of the flavors from the condensed soup. In the end, I do think my favorite part of this recipe is its simplicity. So if you are looking for a quick and simple chicken recipe for dinner, give this one a try!

Chicken in Rice

Chicken in Rice
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
30-40 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
30-40 minutes
Chicken in Rice
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
30-40 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
30-40 minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Mix all ingredients together other than the chicken.
  3. Brown chicken in butter.
  4. Place rice mixture in baking dish. Place chicken in rice.
  5. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes.
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Chicken and Mushrooms

ChickenandMushroomsHeader This week we decided we would take a break from desserts (I’m sure we’ll make more soon) and leftover casseroles to make an actual meal. This chicken and mushrooms recipe is healthier than some and has a relatively short ingredient list. The instructions were interesting and included things I had not encountered before, which was fun!

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

Chicken and mushrooms recipe

First thing, this recipe threw me a curve ball. I had never browned the outside of a chicken breast and then removed it from heat to cook other parts of the meal. I found this incredibly interesting and I still don’t know why this recipe called for that, but it ended up working out just fine! I have really grown to like mushrooms since I was little. Mushrooms were on that long list of foods I didn’t like because I had never tried them before . . . Anyway . . . the smell of the mushrooms and garlic cooking made us excited to try this.

Chicken and Mushrooms

The next step was to add the wine. In looking up types of wines used in cooking, I found that the best choice for a chicken dish like this was a dry, oaky white. I ended up choosing a Chardonnay. After adding the chicken stock and stirring everything together, it was time to put the chicken breasts back in.

Chicken Mushrooms

While Marguerite didn’t suggest this, we decided that after eight or nine minutes of cooking we should flip the chicken breasts over to finish them. We even ended up cooking the chicken longer than Marguerite suggested (something I never thought I would do!) We decided to pair it with rice, although mashed potatoes would have been a delicious addition to this chicken and mushrooms recipe as well.

Mushrooms and Chicken

The chicken stock, wine, garlic, and parsley really soaked in to both the chicken and mushrooms. Cooking the chicken in the amount of liquid present at a lower temperature helped the meat soak up the liquid and not dry out. The chicken was tasty, but for me the real star of this dish was the mushrooms. Shannon is more a fan of mushrooms in creamy dishes, so she wasn’t as crazy about this.  In the end, this chicken and mushrooms recipe was a success but was still rather simple. If you like mushrooms or do chicken a lot and need another recipe to mix it up, this is definitely one to keep in mind.

Mushrooms Chicken

Chicken and Mushrooms
Print Recipe
Servings
2 chicken breasts
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings
2 chicken breasts
Cook Time
30 minutes
Chicken and Mushrooms
Print Recipe
Servings
2 chicken breasts
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings
2 chicken breasts
Cook Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: chicken breasts
Instructions
  1. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to skillet on high heat. Brown each side of the chicken breasts and then remove chicken from heat.
  2. Add another tbsp of olive oil, then the mushrooms and garlic. Cover and cook three minutes. Then uncover and cook mushrooms until brown over medium heat.
  3. Add the wine and increase heat to high. Cook until about half the wine has cooked off.
  4. Add the chicken stock and parsley and reduce heat to half.
  5. Add chicken. Cook 6-8 minutes per side, or until done.
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Inside-Out Chicken Kiev

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There’s no question that the most numerous type of recipe in Marguerite’s cookbook is desserts, and we’ll get back to another one of those next week! But first, a recipe that is most likely the second popular in the book—a chicken recipe. This inside-out chicken kiev was a delicious twist on a classic!

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

Chicken Kiev Recipe

You may notice a few differences between Marguerite’s recipe and our version below. The main difference is the title. We knew that a typical chicken kiev usually has the butter and spices stuffed and cooked on the inside, which was not a part of Marguerite’s recipe. So we decided to rename this recipe ‘inside-out chicken kiev.’ Aaron was almost as excited about the catchy new name as he was about the dish itself!

insideoutchickenkiev

Some other changes we made included minimizing the cook time from Marguerite’s and substituting dried ingredients for fresh ones. We make some type of chicken recipe about once a week and usually only cook it for up to 30 minutes. So when we read how long Marguerite wanted us to cook this recipe, we thought: That’s crazy! And so Aaron’s mother fielded yet another recipe-related phone call from us. We seriously call her 3-4 times while making these. Seriously. She agreed with Marguerite on the cooking time, but the thought of overly dry chicken still made us cringe. We’re glad we went with our guts and cut the cook time. Sorry Marguerite and Mercedes!

inside out chicken kiev

This inside-out chicken kiev smelled great while it was cooking, which made waiting for dinner time to eat it torture! I really liked this chicken recipe. I’ve liked almost all of the things we’ve been making lately, actually. The combination of the spices on the chicken made it incredibly flavorful. A whole bunch of butter slathered on it doesn’t hurt either. As Marguerite’s mother always said “If it calls for one stick of butter, then two will make it twice as good!” Okay, Paula Deen. Aaron also liked this inside-out chicken kiev. But, as I’ve mentioned before, he likes everything.

inside out chickenkiev

We hope you try this simple recipe with your family. We think you’ll enjoy this inside-out chicken kiev as much as we did!

Inside-Out Chicken Kiev
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
2 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Inside-Out Chicken Kiev
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
2 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Melt butter in shallow dish.
  3. Mix bread crumbs, cheese, and spices (salt, garlic salt, oregano, and basil.)
  4. Dip chicken in butter, then crumb mixture.
  5. Place in casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
  6. Mix apple juice, onion, and parsley.
  7. Add to leftover butter.
  8. When 30 minute cook time has passed, pour apple juice mixture over chicken and bake 2 to 3 minutes more.
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