chicken spinach rice gratin

i go to class on wednesday evenings. the class is from 6:30 to 8:30pm and more wednesdays than not, dave walks in the door from work right as i'm running out of it. on tuesdays i plan ahead so that he doesn't have to fend for himself for dinner. leftovers are key - for both of us. i usually end up grabbing a bite at 9 when i get home.

i tried my second recipe from 101cookbooks yesterday, and again i was thrilled with the results.  the original recipe is vegetarian and is called just spinach rice gratin. it's a nice name, i think: spinach rice gratin. it makes it sound glamorous to my ears and better than what it could be called: spinach rice casserole.

there are several things about this dish that i love. for one, it's really very easy and i imagine difficult to mess up. two, it has a ton of spinach in it so it feels like you're eating naughty starches but you're getting leafy greens, too. and three, despite its name it doesn't actually have all that much cheese in it (while still tasting cheesy).

here's how to make it (my way):

ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
3/4 cup white rice
3/4 cup brown rice
2 cups finely chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1 small red onion, diced
1/3 cup sliced almonds or pine nuts (or a combination of both)
2 tablespoons olive oil

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt
a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella (optional - for the topping)

what to do:

preheat the oven to 400F or 200C. lightly grease a baking dish with olive oil.

combine the white and brown rice and rinse thoroughly. put into a medium pan and add 3 cups of water. bring to a boil, then simmer for approximately 15 minutes until water is absorbed. let sit, uncovered to bring the temperature down. stir occasionally to let out steam.

meanwhile, saute chicken breasts (or boil, use leftovers, whatever you have) until they're cooked through and chop into small pieces.

in a large bowl, combine the rice, spinach, and chicken. next, stir in the red onion, almonds/pine nuts and olive oil (leave a bit of the onion and pine nuts for garnish). stir in a bit more than half of the cheese you have (saving a bit for the top). in a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs and salt. fold the egg mixture into the rice mixture, transfer everything into a baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

bake for 30 minutes or until the casserole is set. enjoy!