I was going through a lot of chicken recipes on a Sunday morning that can be made in quick time for my family and luckily got my hands on this recipe. The recipe was called “No Peek Chicken” and this got me intrigued. After going through the recipe, I was surprised that a chicken dish can be made so soon and that too without compromising on taste. My first attempt at this dish was successful and now I have been making this once a month for my family and they just love it.
There is a very strong reason why this chicken is called the “No Peek chicken”. The foil in this chicken is not opened before the time is up, which is why this dish is called the “no peek” chicken. This budget friendly chicken recipe is perfectly done and unlike other chicken recipes, the secret of this dish is to keep the foil intact. The foil ensures all the juices and the chicken flavors spread throughout the dish evenly. So, resist your urge to peek into the chicken until the chicken dish is fully ready. The no peek chicken recipe consists of condensed soups, long grain rice, wild rice mix and little wine.
No peek chicken is an ideal dish for a family get together and for weekends. If you don’t prefer wine, then you can use low sodium chicken broth or stock. Chicken pieces cut into whole can be added into this dish, but you can also add breast, thighs, legs or a combination of chicken pieces to this dish. Before baking, you can brown the chicken to add some extra color and flavor to the no peek chicken.
The brown color skin adds some appearance and texture to the final dish. Though this step is not compulsory, if done it can improve the taste and appearance of the chicken dish. This is a simple chicken recipe that most readers would love to make at least once at their homes. The following recipe will guide you on how to go about preparing for the dish, so that you can make a chicken dish that is delicious and mouthwatering.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
- 8 pieces of chicken, you can add any type of pieces according to your liking
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
- 2/3 cup water or fresh unsalted chicken stock
- ½ cup dry white wine like the unoaked chardonnay or sauvignon blanc
- 6 ounce rice
- 1 envelope dry onion soup
How to make no peek chicken
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot add chicken and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes. Keep turning the chicken until it becomes brown on both sides. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
- Heat the oven to 350 F
- Take a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan or a deep 2 1/2 to 3-quart baking dish and lightly grease them from inside
- Take a large bowl and mix the condensed cream of mushroom and cream of celery soups, water or stock and wine. Mix all of these together and then add the rice and mix them all together. Take the mixture and transfer it to a prepared baking pan.
- Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture and sprinkle the dry onion soup mix over it.
- Cover the pan tightly with an aluminum foil and bake it for 2 hours in a preheated oven.
Important Tips
- You can consider using the lighter or healthy versions of the condensed soups. Cream of chicken with herbs or cream of chicken soup can be substituted for one or both of the soups.
- If you don’t like alcohol or prefer not to add alcohol to the dish, then you can add vegetable or chicken stock to the dish.
- Sauté a cup of each vegetable, mainly celery, carrots and onions until the onions turn translucent. Add these vegetables to the rice or layer these vegetables on top of the rice.
- You can even add diced pimientos to the rice mix to add some extra color or flavor to the dish.
- Sprinkle some fresh herbs like parsley onto the chicken pieces along with onion soup mix.
- Once the chicken is done, remove the foil from the baking dish and sprinkle a layer of cheddar or any other sticky cheese. Place it again into the oven for the cheese to melt.
The no peek chicken is pretty easy to make with very little ingredients. This is a low calorie dish that can be paired with a salad or vegetables. The no peek chicken recipe is mouth-watering and quick to make. Go ahead and try them out this weekend for your friends and family.