Mozzarella Chicken & Rice Casserole

2 chicken breast halves (about 1 pound), cooked and cut into 1" pieces
1 can (4 oz.) mushrooms, drained
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Celery Soup
1 cup chopped broccoli (thawed if frozen)
2 cups cooked rice (1 boiling bag cooked)
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 3 qt. baking dish with non-stick spray.  Evenly place chicken in the dish.  Top with drained mushrooms.  Spoon celery soup over the mushrooms.  Sprinkle with broccoli.  Evenly add rice.  Spoon the mushroom soup over the rice.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake 20 - 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Serves 6

Martha:  I found this recipe on the internet and made my changes.  The original called for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I used bone-in which I feel provides better flavor.  They fried their chicken, I boiled mine.  Their recipe called for a can of peas (I assume English peas), drained.  I had no peas so I used the broccoli.  It also called for fresh mushrooms which I didn't have so I used canned.  My changes not only fit my own taste but it also fit what I had in my pantry, saving me a trip to the grocery store.  I do feel this would be delicious with English peas and I also think that a nice sprinkling of French fried onions added in the last 5 minutes would be delicious.  You could also use Panko bread crumbs if you don't want to add the onions.  Both would give another texture and added taste.  You could also use cream of broccoli soup instead

Lilllian:  My hubby loves this type dish as it has chicken , mushrooms and broccoli in it.  Each day, after he has finished his dinner, he says "Good dinner, Hon." and this is what I would expect from this casserole.  This is great to take to a pot luck dinner as well as for company fare.

Tips:  When entertaining,  keep hot appetizers warm simply heat one round of appetizers at a time.  This way, another batch will be coming out of the oven just as the last batch is eaten.  Or, if you own an electric skillet, hot tray, griddle, or bun warmer, use one of these appliances to keep cooked appetizers hot.