Creamy Chicken Rice Casserole

My husband is a pretty tough guy. He'll kill giant crickets and spiders for me without batting an eye. His list of fears is pretty short and most of them are rational; public speaking, clowns, etc. But he has another fear that he'd probably never admit to. Mycrophobia.

 *insert Jaws theme song here*

Mycrophobia is the fear or aversion to mushrooms. It's actually amazing that we're married given the fact that I absolutely love mushrooms. He admitted to me once that the only time he's tried mushrooms was on a pizza.. Now, I wasn't with him, but I'm assuming it was those slimy canned mushrooms that a lot of places use. Not the best impression for someone that's a mushroom virgin. And he has refused to eat them every since.

I understand that they aren't the most appealing food in the world. They are technically a fungus, which might trigger images such as a fungus between toes in a person's mind. Fungus and fungi are gross words, that's hard to deny.

I, on the other hand, associate wonderful things with mushrooms. My mom and I always used to go "moreling" every spring when I was little. For anyone that doesn't know what that is, it's hunting down morel mushrooms in wooded areas. There are certain techniques for finding the most and the biggest morels. And when you get home you (hopefully) have a bag full of nature's most delicious mushrooms. Yum. I also have memories of my parents and I driving all the way to Mt. Carmel, Illinois - probably about a  45-minute drive - to get fresh shitake mushrooms. Double yum.

Memories aside, mushrooms are just plain delicious. That's all it comes down to. I don't think I've ever met a mushroom that I didn't like. When my friend Sara suggested a recipe to me that included two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup, I had a hunch it wouldn't go over well. But then I remembered that one of my favorite dishes - Green Bean Casserole - includes the same soup and the mushrooms aren't even noticeable. Could I sneak mushrooms past my mycrophobic husband?

Creamy Chicken Rice Casserole

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• a box of chicken Rice-a-Roni
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup (use Cream of Mushroom for both if you don't have a picky husband)
•  2 tbsp butter or margarine 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil the chicken breasts. I had never boiled chicken before and wasn't exactly sure how long I should boil it. And you know what? You'll know when it's done. It's changes from that weird kind of translucent color to white and becomes tender. Take it out to cool and then dice it up.

Keep the broth. Start the Rice-a-Roni as directed, this what you'll need the butter or margarine for. And instead of using water, use the chicken broth you have leftover. When that's finished, mix the rice, chicken, and soup together. Add in one more cup of chicken broth. Spread mixture into pan -- I used a square baking dish that I borrowed from my mom and I'm hoping she's forgotten about.

Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the dish is bubbling throughout.

See any mushrooms in there? Brad didn't either and the dish was a big hit. Super easy, pretty cheap to make, and it helped in my attempt to slowly ease my husband out of his comfort zone.  I don't think he'll be up for grilled portabello mushrooms anytime soon, but this was definitely a start.