Chicken Sausage Rice Bake

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• tomato juice
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 1/4 cups shredded swiss cheese
• 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 whole chicken breasts, halved, boned ans skinned
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 lb sweet italian sausage
• 1 green bell pepper, diced

Recipe

• 1 drain the tomatoes well, reserving the liquid. measure the liquid and add tomato juice to make 3 3/4 cups liquid.
• 2 in a large saucepan, add the tomato liquid and bring it to a boil. stir in the rice, butter and salt. cover tightly and simmer 20 minutes. remove from the heat ans stir in the oregano and crushed fennel seed. let stand, covered about 5 minutes. (leave uncovered if rice is too moist).
• 3 while the rice is cooking, cut the chicken into chunks. cook in the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until cooked through about 3-5 minutes. remove chicken from the skillet with a slotted spoon; add the sausage and green bell pepper. cook, stirring constantly, until the sausage is cooked through. remove from the heat, tip the pan and remove the excess fat.
• 4 add the tomatoes to the skillet with the chicken, mixing well. spoon the rice into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.
• 5 add the chicken to the sausage and peppers, and spoon the mixture evenly over the cheese. (the dish can be refrigerated at this point).
• 6 bake covered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. sprinkle with the swiss cheese, return to the over and bake about 2 minutes more, just until the cheese melts. (if the dish has been refrigerated, bake about 45 minutes before adding the remaining cheese).