Recipe Exchange #1:Chicken and Brown Rice de Provonce

I previously mentioned in an earlier post about the Recipe Exchange, I sadly only received 1 recipe. I was in shock. People are no fun these days. I’m tempted to reply to everyone and yell at them over email for not participating.  I digress.

Anyways, even though I only received 1 recipe, I  said I was going to make whatever recipes came my way and here it is:

Chicken and Brown Rice de Provonce

4 Chicken Breasts or other parts

1 Can Campbell?s Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Cup Brown Rice

3-4 Stalks of Celery

1 Large Onion

¾ Cup of Water or Chicken Broth

¼ Cup White Wine

1 Tablespoon Herbs de Provonce

1-2 Tablespoons Butter

Salt and Pepper to Taste

In pan on stove cook the chopped celery and onion in butter until beginning to soften.  Add wine to deglaze pan and mix in soup.  Then add vegetable mixture to the baking dish with the broth and brown rice.  Arrange the raw chicken on top of the rice bake in a 375 oven with a cover for 30 min to an hour, remove cover for last 10-15 minutes of cooking.  Cook until chicken cook and rice tender.  If rice is dry add more broth or water during cooking.

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Notes: Herbs de Provonce was not easy to find, they do not sell it at the regular grocery store, I had to go to Fresh Market to pick up a jar

This was the first time making the dish for me and I did not have a picture to go by.  I realized as I was making the dish, it did not specify what to do with the Herbs de Provonce. I mixed the tablespoon of spice in the soup mixture.  As I was cooking it, I was hoping that the chicken would absorb the flavor from the rice mixture. No such luck, the chicken looked very bland.  Around 30 minutes in, I decided to add Herbs de Provonce on top of the chicken.

Judgement Time: I was not fan of this dish, at least not the chicken. The Herbs de Provonce is very potent, you can taste the lavender which I think you need an acquired taste for.  I would season the chicken with salt and pepper  prior to baking it next time.  However, I will say that the rice mixture was delicious.

Update: See Michelle’s comment as she is the one who provided the recipe and she explained what she did differently.