Chicken Casserole D'Iberville

Ingredients

• 0.3 cup butter melted
• 0.5 cup butter 
• 1.5 cups round buttery crackers crushed
• 2  celery stalks 
• 6 pound roasting chickens whole
• 8 ounce cream sour
• 10.8 ounce cream of mushroom soup canned
• 0.5 teaspoon curry powder 
• 1 cup sherry dry
• 6 ounce fried onions crushed canned
• 0.1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 cup spring onion chopped
• 16 ounce mushrooms sliced
• 1  onion quartered
• 0.3 teaspoon paprika 
• 0.3 teaspoon pepper 
• 0.3 teaspoon poultry seasoning 
• 12 ounce rice long-grain wild
• 1.5 teaspoons salt 
• 1 cup water 

Equipment

• oven
• sieve
• loaf pan
• casserole dish
• aluminum foil
• wax paper
• microwave
• measuring cup
• dutch oven

Directions

1. Bring first 9 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is done.
2. Remove chicken, reserving broth in Dutch oven.
3. Let chicken cool.
4. Pour broth through a fine wire mesh strainer into an 8-cup liquid measuring cup; discard solids.
5. Cook rice according to package directions, substituting 4 1/4 cups reserved chicken broth for water and omitting butter. (
6. Add water to broth to equal 4 1/4 cups, if necessary.)
7. Skin, bone, and coarsely chop or shred chicken.
8. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add mushrooms and green onions, and saut 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, chicken, sour cream, and soup. Spoon mixture into 8 (2-cup) casserole dishes, 8 (5 1/2- x 3 1/2- x 2-inch) mini-loaf pans, 3 (8-inch or 9-inch) square baking dishes, or 1 (4-quart or 15- x 10-inch) casserole dish.
9. Stir together crushed crackers and fried onions. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, paprika, and garlic powder.
10. Sprinkle casserole evenly with cracker mixture.
11. Bake, covered, at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 more minutes or until bubbly.
12. To make ahead: Cover casseroles tightly with foil, and freeze unbaked up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator.
13. Bake as directed. (Casserole may also be baked frozen. Plan to double the baking times.)
14. To microwave one frozen, unbaked 8-inch square casserole: Casserole must be in a microwave-safe dish. Cover dish with wax paper. Microwave at HIGH 15 to 16 minutes or until casserole is bubbly, giving dish a half-turn once.
15. To microwave one thawed, unbaked 8-inch square casserole: Follow directions to microwave a frozen, unbaked casserole, reducing microwave time to 7 to 8 minutes.
16. Kitchen Express: Use 2 deli-roasted chickens (about 2 pounds each) in place of boiled chickens. Use 1 cup dry sherry and 3 1/4 cups (26 ounces) canned chicken broth to cook rice.