Creamy Rice with Peas, Mushrooms, and Chicken

Phew! All caught up. That feels good, although I should be mopping my kitchen floor. I can always run downstairs once the husband calls to say he's on his way home and get it done then. Oh wait...he reads this to see what we're having for dinner. Just kidding honey...the floor is SPARKLING and BEAUTIFUL.

Yeah right, like he'd ever believe that. Anyway, tonight we're having a recipe out of the Kraft Food & Family magazine. If you don't already get this, you should! It's totally free, just sign up online (follow that link, it will be on there somewhere), and every quarter you get their magazine filled with recipes. Lots of kid-friendly stuff, party food ideas. It's really cool. It of course features Kraft products, but hey, it's free. I was going through some older issues and saw this listed as a potential holiday side dish. I thought, "Why not add chicken and make a meal out of it?" So that's what we're having tonight! The recipe doesn't include chicken, so I'll add in my notes at the bottom when I'm going to put that in with everything.

Keep in mind I'm copying the recipe from the website...I'm not trying to force anyone into using these brands!

Creamy Rice with Peas and Mushrooms

1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1 pkg. (8 oz.) fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

COOK and stir onions in dressing in large saucepan on medium-high heat 2 min. or until tender. Add mushrooms; cook 2 to 3 min. or until mushrooms are tender.

ADD broth and peas; stir. Bring to boil.

STIR in rice and cream cheese; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 8 min. Stir in lemon peel and Parmesan cheese.

*****

Okay, so I figure I'll add in the chicken with the mushrooms. I'm using leftover chicken from last night, so it's already cooked. Otherwise I'd probably do the chicken with the onions. I'm also not a fan of Minute Rice (plus I don't have enough of it on hand), so I think I'm going to make brown rice but not cook it all the way, then add it in like it calls for and let it finish cooking with everything else.

Since this is somewhat of a casserole, I'm not sure what to have on the side with it. I went to the farmer's market Saturday morning and got some green beans, so I may just steam those. I'm the only person that eats them.