valmg's Gluten-free Cheesy Chicken And Green Bean Casserole - The Dish I Made At The Ragu Kitchens

When I was visited the Ragu / Unilever Consumer kitchen at the end of October we learned about the updated Ragu sauce and then had the opportunity to cook a meal. I actually spent time with RB brainstorming and creating a new recipe before going there. We were allowed to cook just about anything we wanted as long as it fit into one of several categories, fed 4, used a jar of Ragu, required no more than 8 commonly used ingredients, and could be made in 30 minutes of less. I figured since the dish called for Ragu, a red sauce, that most people would use pasta. I wanted my dish to be different, and gluten-free, so I decided I would use rice. My first dish (which I’ll post another day) was delicious but went well over the 30 minute limit. I kept some of the ingredients from that dish and changed the prep and came up with this one. The dish was well received at the Ragu kitchen and has become a favorite here at home.

valmg’s Cheesy Chicken And Green Bean Casserole

INGREDIENTS

1x jar Ragu Old World Style Traditional Sauce
4x cups uncooked Minute Premium Rice
2x 6 ounce boxes Perdue Short Cuts Italian chicken
1x 32 ounce container ricotta cheese
1x 12 ounce bag steamable green beans or 2 cans green beans
1x jar Hormel Real Bacon bits
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp Onion powder
1 tbsp Garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375.
Cook the Minute Rice according to the instructions on the box.
While the rice is cooking, steam the green beans in the microwave and cut the chicken into bite sized chunks.
In a large mixing bowl place the ricotta cheese, Italian seasoning, onion powder and garlic powder. Mix well.
Add in the rice. Mix well.
Pour in the jar of Ragu. Mix well.
Add in the chicken. Mix well.
Add in the green beans. Mix well.
Pour the contents of the bowl into a large casserole or baking dish. It will look sort of pink.
Sprinkle the bacon bits over the top.
Bake for 15 minutes, until top looks more golden than pink.
Serve immediately, using salt and pepper to taste.