Chicken-Zucchini Casserole

I made this casserole from a recipe from the cooking magazine, Cuisine at Home (February 2010 issue), intending for it to serve Jarrett and myself multiple meals last week. We ended up being less than impressed with the dish, Jarrett more so than I, so the leftovers seemed much less than desirable. I am not a big fan of chicken thighs, I have found -- I prefer white meat -- so I think that was a big problem for me. And I think the actual casserole part of the casserole appeared, at least, too eggy for Jarrett (if you do not already know, Jarrett has a strong aversion to eggs). Jarrett struggled through it for one more meal, but I then ate it (sans chicken) for lunch nearly everyday last week, and I actually thought the flavor of the zucchini-rice mixture improved with age. I was pleased to find out that Elsa actually loved it, and we ended up sharing it all week. So if I were to make this again, I believe I would most likely use cut-up chicken breast (or leave the chicken out altogether), would probably used brown rice, and would make it more for Elsa than anyone else!

All-American Chicken-Zucchini Casserole
Makes 8 servings

For the zucchini mixture:
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup dry basmati rice
8 cups chopped zucchini (2 1/2 lb)
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced

For the Cheddar mixture:
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (5 oz)
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, divided
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Kosher salt and black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Bring broth to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add rice, cover, and reduce heat to low; simmer until liquid is absorbed, 20 minutes.

3. Combine zucchini, onion, water, and garlic in a large saucepan; cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until zucchini is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and lightly mash zucchini mixture.

4. Stir together eggs, Cheddar, sour cream, milk, 1/4 cup Parmesan, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, Tabasco, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl.

5. Add the cooked rice along with the zucchini mixture to the Cheddar mixture in the bowl. Spoon the combined mixture into the prepared baking dish.

6. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet; saute until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes on each side.

7. Arrange chicken on rice mixture in the baking dish. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and the remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs; sprinkle over the chicken and rice in the baking dish.

8. Bake chicken and rice until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees when tested with an instant-read thermometer.