Chicken and Rice Casserole

Oh hi, guys, didn't see you there. Today I take you on a magical adventure into a twisted version of my childhood: the chicken and rice casserole...DAIRY FREE DUN DUN DUN!!! I got the recipe from here and I got the idea from my very own mother. Now think about this: what is the most bland and boring combination of ingredients you could come up with?
BOOM!
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 choppity chop chopped onion
1 cup of brown or white rice (white rice cooks faster and there's a white people joke in there somewhere. let me know if you find it).
1.5 cups of chicken broth
Yep, that's the boring way to do things. Now to add some flavor:
Olive oil for sauteeing
Minced garlic to taste (1tsp is enough for lamos)
Italian seasoning to taste (2tsp for the unadventurous)
Paprika (1/2 tsp for the people who are like wth is paprika?)
Salt (1/2 tsp of the salt of the sea)
Black pepper (1/2 tsp except more because pepper)
2tbs of flour (use exactly that much!)
1 cup of almond milk (sub for your preferred flavor if you must)
And I decided I needed to use the leftover dairyless pesto in my fridge (see previous post), so a couple dumps of that. Don't judge me, pesto is the nectar of the hipsters.

You start by heating up the olive oil. Then, you add the onion and the spices and heat until the onion is tender like a little baby deer. Then you add the garlic and cook that for like, a minute or so. Now for the good part! Add in the flour and stir really really fast until it's all blended together LIKE THIS:

Hahaha you thought I was going to put a picture in there. Do you really need a picture to show you what flour covered onion looks like? We're all adults here, you don't need a picture book. But really my phone is dead and that's why I have no pictures. Moving right along.

After the flour is all over them onions, mix in the chicken broth SLOWLY (or not, I can't tell you how to live your life but you get the consequences whatever they may be) and once you've got that all mixed up, add in the milk and the rice and pull the pan off the heat. Pour the contents into a casserole dish. Or a cake pan. Or a bread pan. Or a slow cooker. The options are limited. Then! Dump some of that old pesto into the dish, mix mix mix. Trust me, it's delicious. Now take your chicken, sear it on both sides with a hot pan and olive oil, toss it in the casserole dish like yesterday's garbage, and throw it in the oven at 375 for like an hour. But remember to cover the dish in aluminum foil. Probably should've mentioned that first. It will come out flavorful and delicious, and you will thank me from the bottom of your belly, I guarantee. Except for that part where you're like "this looks weird, am I doing this right? Why didn't she put pictures? CURSE YOUUUUUUU!!!" and then you'll get over it because I told you to.