Chicken & Rice

 

I have made and eaten a number of different versions of Chicken and Rice.  Some I’ve loved and some I’ve never made again. 

After trying so many different versions of this dish, I finally came up with a version of my own that I fell in love with and that my family enjoys as well.   It’s a perfect dish to throw together when you are pressed for time, and is versatile enough that you can add anything else to it you may like.  I’ve made it in both the oven as a casserole and in a slow cooker.  Both turn out a great result.

CHICKEN & RICE:

• 3 lbs. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed.
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 tsp. Olive Oil
• 2 Cups Uncooked White Rice (not instant)
• 2 – 14.5 oz. Cans Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 – 7 oz. Can Chopped Green Chilis
• 3 Tbsp. Goya Sofrito (tomato based cooking sauce found in the ethnic food section)
• 2 packets Goya Sazon (I use the one in the orange & yellow box)
• 1 tsp. Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 1 Small Yellow Onion, chopped
• 2 – 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Lime, juiced
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Cut up chicken and place in a large bowl.  Add all dry ingredients, including 1 packet of the Goya Sazon to the chicken and stir well.  Transfer to a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for a couple of hours, or overnight.

When ready to assemble, remove chicken from the refrigerator.  In a large sauté pan, add the butter and allow to melt.  Add the chicken to the pan and allow to brown for a few minutes, stirring often so chicken does not burn.  Once done, remove chicken to a clean and large mixing bowl. 

Add olive oil to the sauté pan along with the onion and garlic.  Saute just until translucent. 

Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, chilis, chicken broth, lime juice, cilantro, rice and the second packet of Goya Sazon to the bowl.  Stir together well.

If you are planning to cook this in the oven, add the mixture to a 13″ x 9″ greased baking dish.  I just spray the baking dish with some butter flavored non-stick cooking spray. 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until rice is tender.

If you prefer to make this in the slow cooker, follow the above instructions and add this to your slow cooker, set on low.  Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or until the rice is tender.

Serve up and enjoy!

I shared this recipe in the Saturday Swap over at Kim’s blog, Quit Eating Out

  

Beef Barley Soup

Do you love soup as much as I do?  I could eat soup three times a day, everyday for a month and never be sick of it.

My husband has another opinion.  He likes soup, but for him it’s a lunch item accompanied by a sandwich.  For me, it’s a meal.  For my children it means grilled cheese, because soup for dinner has to be shared with grilled cheese sandwiches or they won’t eat it.  My family is fickle and they make me crazy sometimes.

If you checked out my Smothered Roast Beef recipe from the other day, I hinted that the leftovers from that dish would be used in another recipe.  This is that recipe. 

And before any of you balk at this I’m going to tell you upfront that some of the gravy from that roast beef is used as the base of this soup.  Don’t go thinking that is weird, gravy in soup, because if you remember that gravy was made with a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup.  So really, it’s only fitting for it to be in this soup.  And it works.  Very well, I might add.

I make this in the slow cooker and it works out perfectly fine.

BEEF BARLEY SOUP:

• 1 1/2 Cups Diced Leftover Roast Beef
• 4 Cups Low Sodium Beef Broth
• 1 Cup Leftover Gravy
• 1 Cup Water
• 2 Carrots, diced
• 1 Stalk Celery, diced
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 3/4 Cup Small Pearl Barley
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in the slower cook leaving out the barley.

Stir well, season accordingly, cover and set to low.  Allow to cook on low for 4 hours.  At the end of 4 hours, stir in the barley and cover.  Allow to continue cooking for an additional 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until barley is tender.

Serve up with some grilled cheese. 

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken With Broccoli

I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks and realized as I was making it that it was no longer going to really resemble the original recipe at all.  I think the original recipe was a good foundation for this dish, but it needed more.  A lot more. 

All three of my children have always loved broccoli.  Over the past year my 8-year-old decided he hated it and his 4-year-old sister decided to agree.  My oldest still eats it.  My husband will not even look at broccoli let alone eat it, so I was hesitant to add it to this dish in fear that nobody would touch it.

I ended up being pleasantly surprised.  My husband didn’t come near it, which was no surprise, but my youngest son liked it and my daughter ate two helpings of it, asking for more broccoli than chicken.  Go figure.

The original recipe called for frozen broccoli, but I opted to use fresh instead and I think I made the right choice.

I would definitely make this again, but it needs some serious color.  The lack of color from the sauce, pasta and chicken, with only with the green of the broccoli doesn’t make it aesthetically pleasing to look at.  Tastes good, but it needs a little color.  The next time I make this I plan on adding a small jar of drained and chopped pimento.  I have a feeling that will fit in perfectly here!

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN WITH BROCCOLI

• 4 Large Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Packet Good Seasons DRY Italian Dressing Mix
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Low Fat Sour Cream
• 1 8 0z. Brick of Cream Cheese (I used Neuchâtel for a lower fat content)
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. Paprika
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash Original Salt Free Blend
• Salt to taste
• 1 Small Jar Chopped Pimento, drained. (I didn’t add this to this version I made but plan to in the next one) *optional
• 2 Cups Fresh Broccoli Florets
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth (low sodium)
• 1 Can Campbells Health Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 Pound Penne Pasta
• 1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

Add the chicken, olive oil, italian dressing mix and the Mrs. Dash and set to high.

In a skillet set to medium, add the butter.  Once hot, add the onions and sauté until soft.  

Once the onions are soft, add the can of soup, sour cream, cream cheese, chicken broth, nutmeg, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir well with a whisk.  Allow the mixture to come to a low simmer.  Once this is achieved, pour the sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker and stir well to combine.  Cover and allow to cook on high for one hour.

After one hour, turn the slow cooker to low and allow to continue cooking for another two hours.  At the end of the two hours, add in the broccoli florets and the drained pimento, if using.  Stir again to combine, cover and allow to cook on low for an additional hour.

Just before done, cook the pasta in a large pot of well salted water.  Once aldente, drain and add to a large bowl.  Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well.  Serve immediately with some additional grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

 

 

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

This is one of those simple meals I throw together for a night when I know I’m not going to have time to cook.  Tuesday is the day of the week this works best for me since it’s always a busy day at our house. 

You can just as easily make this on the stove, but I like the ease of the slow cooker for this because I start it early in the day and don’t need to stir or do another thing to it.  Dinner is ready and I can just serve it up.  It’s also a favorite in our house since all of my children love taco anything.  Well, everyone except my daughter.  She will eat tacos and nachos but won’t eat this soup. 

There are several different ways I make this and the options to change it up are unlimited.  I’ll give you the basic recipe I’ve followed for years, and one you can find almost anywhere, and then the options you can choose from to change it up.

SLOW COOKER TACO SOUP:

Serves 6 (with leftovers since it’s always better the next day!)

• 2 lbs. Lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
• 1 28 oz. Can Petite Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Medium Onion, diced
• 1 Can of Corn, drained
• 1 Can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Packet Taco Seasoning
• 1 Packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
• 1 Packet Goya Sazon (in the orange box) *optional
• 1 1/2 cans Water (use the empty tomato can to measure) 
• Top with some shredded cheddar, sour cream and broken up tortilla chips.

Preheat your slow cooker. 

On the stove, brown the ground beef or turkey along with the onion.  When done, drain with a slotted spoon and add to the slow cooker.

Then add all the other ingredients, stir well and cover.  Set to cook on high for 4 or 5 hours or low for 6 to 7 hours.  Once the soup begins to bubble in the slow cooker it’s done.

You can of course eat this just as is.  But it’s even better if you add some shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and a few crushed up tortilla chips.  Stir it all together and enjoy!

Option #2:

Replace the beef or turkey with leftover shredded chicken.  You can also throw in a can of green chiles if you want a little spice, or leave them out.

Option #3: 

Replace the same amount of regular petite cut tomatoes with Fire Roasted Tomatoes instead.  This adds a delicious smokey flavor to the soup.

Option #4:

Replace the 28 oz. can of tomatoes with 1 15 oz. can of Rotel and 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes.

There are probably a million on variations you could make to call this your own.  Start out with the basic recipe, which is good just as it is, and go from there.  Enjoy!

Chicken with Rosemary & Sage

My garden is going crazy now.  Tomatoes are filling the plants along with eggplants and peppers.  My herbs are going crazy, too, especially my sage, rosemary and basil.  Let’s not talk about my cilantro, and the fact that this is truly my last year of growing it.  I love the stuff, but it is too temperamental to grow.  Luckily they sell it in the stores year round and it’s cheap.

Tuesdays have become my craziest day of the week, so on Monday I was already coming up with an idea for dinner.  I had some boneless skinless chicken breasts and then headed out to the garden to grab some sage and rosemary. 

I had several places I had to be late yesterday afternoon so I knew I wanted a dinner I could start early in the day.  I decided on using the slow cooker.   I love my slow cooker and use it weekly, especially during the winter months.  However, using the slow cooker is not always just as simple as dumping everything into the insert and forgetting about it.  Some things, like soup, sauces, stews, etc. you can absolutely do this with.  But when you are making things like pot roast, chicken, pork, etc. you need to do a little prep work before you just dump everything in.  Browning  your meat before you put it in the slow cooker provides better flavor and presentation.  I’m not a fan of eating bone white chicken or pork and gray beef.  By browning these meats before adding them to your slow cooker you increase their flavor, and it makes for an aesthetically pleasing presentation.

With that being said, the recipe I’m sharing with you today could just as easily be made in a dutch oven either on the stove or started on the stove and finished in the oven. 

This dish came out delicious and the chicken was perfectly tender.  My family really enjoyed it and it was fast and easy.  I served mine up with some jasmine rice. 

Want to know how to make it? 

CHICKEN WITH ROSEMARY & SAGE:

• 3 lbs. Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 qt. Chicken Broth
• 1 Stem Fresh Rosemary
• 5-6 Fresh Sage Leaves
• 1 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Paprika
• 1 tsp. Kosher or Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• 1 tsp. Dried Parsley
• Butter for browning chicken

Begin by trimming the chicken of all fat.  If you have very thick breasts, filet them first.  Cut each chicken breast into 1″ wide strips.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, paprika and parsley.  Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour shaking off any excess and set on a separate plate.

In a large pan, add a tablespoon of butter and begin browning the chicken in batches, making sure not to burn the butter.  Continue to add butter as you need it.  Once the chicken is a gold brown with a slight crust, remove it to a separate plate.

Turn your slow cooker on low.

Add your chicken broth to the pan and bring to a simmer, making sure to scrape up all those browned bits off the bottom of the pan.  Allow the sauce to simmer and reduce by “almost” half.

Take the bowl with the flour that remains from the chicken you just dredged your chicken in.  Add your flour, 1 tablespoon at a time to your simmering broth and whisk quickly to prevent any lumps.  Continue to add flour until you reach the desired consistency for the gravy.  Taste for seasoning and add any additional salt or pepper to taste.

Add all the chicken to the preheated slow cooker and pour the gravy over the top.  Add the fresh rosemary sprig and the fresh sage leaves to the top of the chicken.  Cover and allow to cook on low for 3 hours.

Before serving, remove the sage and rosemary, which is wilted and cooked out by now.  I chose to serve this over Jasmine rice, but you can serve it over rice, noodles or even orzo would be delicious. 

Enjoy!