998 Hillary Clinton's Chicken and Rice Deluxe

Politicians' wives recipes are popular for fund raisers and campaigning. This recipe apparently appeared in Recipes from Hope, Arkansas (1992) and was requested by a reader of the Columbus Dispatch. I noticed it yesterday (food section is on Wednesday) and noted that I had most of the ingredients on hand, so I fixed it for supper last night. Incidentally, I think Senator Clinton is doing a fine job representing New York.

Remember the flap about Mrs. Heinz-Kerry's cookie recipe? Not only was it not very good, but it wasn't even hers by her own admission--after it was published. But I think this one looks like a recipe that a busy lawyer whose spouse also worked might fix, because it has so many short cuts popular with today's cooks--packaged rice, mayonnaise and cream of celery soup in place of a cream sauce, and canned beans. I had to make a few minor substitutions--didn't have long-grain or wild rice, so I used white. Also, I'm wondering if a 6 oz. can of green beans is a misprint, but I did have the small can on hand. Small broccoli would probably work well too. I don't add salt because the canned soup has a lot, and I used RealLemon, not juice of a lemon. But, with too many adjustments, it wouldn't be Hillary's recipe, would it?

1 package (6 oz) wild rice or long-grain and wild rice mix
2 TBS chopped green pepper
2 TBS chopped onion
2 TBS butter
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 can (6 oz.) French-cut green beans, drained
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of celery soup
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
1/4 tsp. salt
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup shredded cheese

I served it with toasted, buttered rolls and fresh strawberries topped with Cool Whip.