Chicken Almond Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almonds chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 lb. chicken breast cubed into bite sized pieces
• 1 med onion chopped
• 2 cups celery chopped
• 3 cups cooked rice (approx. 1.5 cups of uncooked rice) 1 1/4 cup mayonnaise * what I do is use the same amount as the soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 box (5oz) of Stove Top stuffing mix
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

1. 1
   Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a medium size saute/frying pan toast almonds for approximately 3 minutes on medium-high heat.  Remove almonds from pan into large bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of butter to frying pan and saute chicken pieces until no longer pink.  Remove chicken and add to the bowl with almonds.  Saute onions and celery for 3 minutes. Add mixture to the chicken/almond.  Add rice, mayonnaise, condensed cream of chicken soup, and a little salt and pepper (to taste) to the bowl and mix everything until well combined.  Add mixture to a greased 9x13 baking casserole dish.  Microwave 3 tablespoons of butter until melted.  Open the bag of Stove Top Stuffing and add melted butter to it.   Fold the bag at the seam and shake the mixture for half a minute.  Sprinkle the stuffing mixture on top of the casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.