Chicken and Rice Casserole

I made this delicious Chicken and Rice casserole last night for dinner, it is great!!  I got it from Paula Dean on the Food Network site.  You can go here to get more great recipes from Food Network.  I LOVE Paula Dean but her dishes can be so fattening, I did make a few changes to this recipe to keep the calories and fat content a little lower, but I think my version came out just as good! 

photo from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients


2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and diced (everyone in my family besides me HATES onion so I left this out)
3 cups diced, cooked chicken ( I used 3 chicken breasts that I cooked in the crock pot)
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans green beans, drained and rinsed
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup (I used cream of chicken soup)
1 cup mayonnaise ( I used 1/2 cup of light mayo and it worked fine)
1 (6-ounce) box long-grain wild rice, cooked according to package directions
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat butter or oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
Add all remaining ingredients to bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.
Pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for a few minutes before serving

This was so good and a very easy weeknight meal, I will make this recipe again!