One Pot Chicken over Cheesy Rice

Chicken over rice gets a gourmet twist in this delicious comfort food dish.

Mis en Place

It's nice to have everything prepped and ready. It's makes cooking a breeze.

 Starting with the rice first-

Onion and bell pepper are added to sizzling butter (um, yum)...

 ...followed by long grain rice...

 ...and chicken stock and a bay leaf.

Once all the liquid is absorbed into the rice, this beautiful fontina cheese (below) is added.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. While the rice is simmering away, we start on the chicken portion of this meal.

 The chicken dish starts with bacon. Lovely, salty, delicious bacon. Drool.

The chicken gets cooked in the rendered fat from the bacon (so evil, so tasty).

Once the chicken is cooked through and removed from the pan, you're left with a tasty broth in which to cook some onions and fresh garlic. It just keeps getting better!

Once the garlic gets fragrant, you add mushrooms, thyme and chicken stock and something magical happens-- you're left with the best tasting, most flavorful broth! 

 The chicken and bacon get added back into the mushroom mixture and the chicken portion is complete.

The rice is finished off with peas and fontina....

  ...and then it's time to eat!  And this dish is sooo good! The rice is cheesy and creamy from the fontina and has a great texture and flavor from the yellow peppers and peas. The chicken and bacon mixture is delicious (how could it not be?) and the broth is unbelievably good. So, make sure to get a big scoop of rice and lots of broth when you serve up the chicken mixture!

The final picture doesn't do this dish justice. But, take my word for it (and five other adults) this chicken dish served over cheesy rice is absolutely delicious!

One Pot Chicken over Cheesy Rice

Ingredients
6 bacon slices, roughly chopped
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
8 ounces button mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup chicken stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup minced green onions
Cheesy Rice Pilaf, recipe follows
2 tablespoons minced parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions
In an electric skillet or a large heavy skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels. Season the chicken with the Essence, and add to the fat in the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. To the pan add the onions, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and thyme, and cook until the mushrooms give off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring to deglaze the pan. Add the reserved chicken, lower the heat, and simmer until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the bacon and green onions, and stir well. Remove from the heat and serve over the Cheesy Rice Pilaf, and garnish with the parsley.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup

Cheesy Rice Pilaf:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow bell peppers
1 cup long-grain rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 pound fontina or mozzarella, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a heavy, medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and bell peppers, and cook, stirring until soft, about 4 minutes. Add rice, salt, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the stock and stir. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add the peas, cover and continue simmering until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and fluff the rice with a fork. Add the cheeseand parlsey, and stir. Serve immediately.

Snow and The Ultimate Chicken Pot Pie

Salt Lake got dumped on yesterday. It started snowing around 5:00 in the evening and didn't quit until about 5:00 in the morning. 

All that snow made me think of comfort food and one of the best comfort foods, is Ina Garten's delicious chicken pot pie. 

A hearty mix of juicy chicken, peas, sautéed onions and carrots are cooked in a rich, buttery broth. The creamy soup is topped off with a homemade pastry crust and baked until golden brown. This pot pie is amazing! Especially when it's cold out.


Use bone-in, skin-on chicken for more flavor (rotisserie would be tasty too and a lot quicker). I also add diced celery and a cup or so of frozen corn. I blanch the celery with the carrots and added them at the same time. As for the corn, I throw it in at the end along with the peas. I omit the pearl onions (because the recipe calls for two whole onions, plus 1 1/2 cups pearl onions! Overload!) But, if you love pearl onions, just cut the amount in half and that should be plenty.


To save time, buy puff pastry instead of making the crust from scratch. A nice salad with cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, chèvre and homemade ranch is a great accompaniment and really all that is needed since the soup itself is so filling. 


Oh, but don't forget a good bottle of wine!

Another thought...small, cubed, red potatoes(skin-on) would be very good. 1 1/2 to 2 cups perhaps. Adjust other ingredients accordingly.


Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For the pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Weeknight Dinner

My husband and I have been cooking dinner together at home every night for the last couple of weeks and it has been great! We try and use all the fresh fruits and vegetables we have on hand to create healthy and tasty meals that we can enjoy with our little girls. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here's what we cooked up tonight:

Sweet Potato Fries

Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry

Baked Chicken over Root Vegetables

Here's how we did it...

We sliced up one white onion, one orange bell pepper, one jalapeno and added in some fresh cloves of garlic. We tossed all the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, Italian seasoning, and thyme. Then the vegetables were laid in a rimmed baking sheet.

We topped the vegetables with uncooked, seasoned chicken breast and baked it in the oven at 415 degrees for about 40 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through and stirring around the vegetables. Make sure the vegetables are tucked under the chicken so the edges don't burn.

We also made sweet potato fries (well, actually yams, but yam fries sounds funny). Anyway, we peeled the yams...

cut them into fry-size pieces and...

tossed them with olive oil, garlic powder, a pinch of salt, cinnamon and a small sprinkling of brown sugar. I also like to add a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat if the kids aren't eating them. All the seasonings work really well together and you get a nice balance of sweet and savory. We bake the fries in the oven along with the chicken.

We also had some eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms on hand, so we chopped them up, seasoned them and gave them a quick toss in the wok.

** Here are all the dishes out of the oven **

Veggie Stir-Fry

Baked Chicken with Root Vegetables

And Yam Sweet Potato Fries.

Everything was fresh, healthy and delicious. We usually have the above ingredients on hand, so we do different variations each evening. I love using up all of our fresh fruits and vegetables and it's a tasty and easy way to eat healthy!

Up Next

Crispy Orange Chicken with Fried Rice...

I spotted this photo and recipe on another fabulous foodie blog called Evil Chenanigans. It looked so good, I thought I would post it here now and make it in the next few days. Yum.

Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan

I was at the grocery today and I spotted a large purple eggplant sitting so vibrantly on the shelf. I've never bought eggplant before nor cooked with it, so I thought, why not? I asked the produce guy to pick a ripe one out that I could use in a dish for dinner and then I got home and decided to make eggplant parmesan. We also had chicken and mushrooms on hand, so I threw it altogether and came up with this amped up parmesan dish.

It turned out great! My husband and I ate almost the whole pan (we're big eaters though). The eggplant and parmesan are a yummy combination and the chicken and mushrooms add great texture and flavor and make it a bit more hardy. The cheesy herb topping is a must!

Chicken, mushroom and eggplant parmesan

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into 1/4 in slices
• 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 1/4 teaspoon each, oregano and parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices, chicken, and mushrooms in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle herbs on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Barbecue Chicken Salad with Ranch

My mom loves barbecue sauce. So of course, her favorite salad would be one topped with bbq'd chicken (or bbq'd meat of some kind). She came over yesterday during lunch to visit my girls, so I thought I would try and throw together a tasty salad with what I had on hand.

We had grilled chicken left over from the night before, so I cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and marinated it with some Jack Daniels barbecue sauce. If you like barbecue sauce, this is a tasty one.

Here's the marinated chicken. The picture was an afterthought, so it only captures a few pieces in the bottom of the Tupperware. Anyhoo, not important.

On top of the lettuce, I layered fresh garden tomatoes, slices of English cucumber, tortilla chips (for crunch and saltiness) and slivered almonds. For the dressing, I whipped together a homemade ranch. If you're going to have ranch dressing, it has to be homemade! It's soo good.
Picture Source: Simplyrecipes

So there you have it. The salad was very good if you like this combo of flavors. Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers along with crunchy chips and almonds, paired with bbq'd chicken and cold ranch dressing...yum!

BBQ Chicken Salad with Ranch

One small package mixed salad greens

2-3 tomatoes sliced

1 English cucumber sliced

1/2 cup toasted almonds

Cooked chicken marinated in bbq sauce, cut into strips

1 cup Tortilla strips

Homemade ranch

Layer all the ingredients, crack some fresh black pepper on top and serve. You can thin out a little bit of barbecue sauce and drizzle that on the top too.

* Grilled corn, toasted edamame, black beans...there are many tasty additions you could add to this salad.

Thai-Style Chicken with Basil

This was my first attempt at making Thai food at home and this was a nice simple dish to start off with. My family and I really enjoy Thai food and love the flavor of basil, so this dish was well received by all of us. The photos don't look like much, but this was a really tasty chicken dish.

We added some cashews for crunch.

Thai-Style Chicken with Basil
2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
6 green or red Thai chiles (or 2 serrano chiles), stemmed and cut into ½-inch pieces
3 tablespoons fish sauce plus extra for serving
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon white vinegar plus extra for serving
4 teaspoons sugar plus extra for serving
3 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil1
½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into
2-inch pieces
Red pepper flakes for serving

1. Place ½ cup basil leaves, garlic, and chiles in food processor and pulse until finely chopped, 6 to 8 one-second pulses, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once during processing. Transfer 1 tablespoon mixture to small bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons fish sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, and sugar; set aside. Transfer remaining mixture to medium bowl and stir in shallots and oil; set aside. Do not wash processor bowl.
2. In now empty food processor, pulse chicken and remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce until meat is chopped into approximate ¼-inch pieces, 6 to 8 one-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl and marinate, refrigerated, for 15 minutes.
3. Transfer shallot-chili mixture in 12-inch heavy-bottomed non-stick skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until garlic and shallots are golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Add chicken, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring and breaking up chicken with potato masher or wooden spoon, until only traces of pink remain, 2 to 4 minutes. Add fish sauce-chili mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining 1 ½ cup basil leaves and cook, stirring constantly, until basil is wilted, about 30 seconds. Serve, passing extra fish sauce, sugar, crushed red pepper, and vinegar at the table.

Chicken Empanadas

Our friends came over with their adorable daughter Halee, to visit and have a play date. I needed to whip up some appetizers, so I choose these yummy chicken empanadas.

Thin rounds of pie dough are stuffed with a chicken, red pepper, cumin, cream cheese mixture and baked until crispy and golden brown. I served them up with my Aunt's easy and delicious chili cheese dip. These are bit time consuming, but can be made ahead and are well worth the effort.

Chicken Empanadas

Adapted from Paula Deen

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken (I use whole cooked rotisserie chicken. It's quick and easy)

1 (8 oz) Pkg. shredded cheese

6 oz Cream Cheese

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (I used canned red and yellow peppers)

1-2 Jalapenos, seeded and chopped (1 small can of green chilies is tasty too. Add a little red pepper flakes for heat) .

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

2 (15 oz) pkgs. pie dough

Water

Preheat 400

Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients. Unroll 1 piecrust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining piecrusts. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 scant teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

*This makes a ton of filling, so three to four pie crusts are needed. You can cut the filling mixture in half and use two pie crusts if you want.

* To spice these up a bit more, brush an egg wash on the top and sprinkle with chili powder.

My Aunt's Chili Dip

1 (8 0z) pkg. cream cheese

1 can Nalley's Chili (regular, with beans, no beans, turkey or veggie are all delicious)
1 small can green chile's

Combined all ingredients in a bowl and heat in microwave, covered for 2 minutes. Stir and heat mixture in 30 second increments until combined. You can also heat this mixture in a crock pot or a pan on the top of the stove.

Serve empanadas hot out of the oven with warm chili dip. Yum!

Shredded Chicken Tacos

My Chicken Taco Bar

One Rotisseries Chicken, breast and leg meat shredded or
2 chicken breasts cooked in garlic and butter, shredded or
Any meat you fancy in tacos, burger, turkey etc.
Taco Shells, hard and soft (it's nice to have the option)
Shredded Cheese
Fresh Tomatoes, chopped
Cucumber, diced small
Guacamole or slices of avocado
Refried beans
Spanish style rice
Pico ge gallo
Salsa Verde
Sour Cream
Hot sauce
Shredded Lettuce
Whole Olives to put on your fingers :)

I cook the spanish rice in my rice cooker first so it will be ready when everything else is. I cook the refried beans in a saucepan until they're heated through.

Like my mom use to do, I sprinkle some cheese in the bottom of the hard taco shells and line them up in a loaf pan and pop them into the oven until the cheese melts. I heat up the soft tortillas so they're nice and warm and then wrap them in paper towels. Everything else goes into bowls with serving spoons.

A homemade taco bar is so delicious and easy and everyone can choose the toppings they like.

What do you like for your taco bar?

Quick Noodle Soup

Kaia was asking for "Nu Nu's" today, and she said absolutely "no mac n' cheese, mommy". So I searched the cupboards for some chicken nu nu soup, but came up empty handed. Not wanting to get ready and pack up Kaia to go to the grocery store, I decided to make some myself. I had some raw pasta and chicken broth, so I got to work.

Here's what I came up with:

4 cups chicken stock
1 chkn. bouillon cube
1 tsp. corriander
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 carrots, diced small
2 celery ribs, diced small
1 chicken breast
1 1/2 cups pasta noodles
1 T butter
1/2 cup peas
Salt and Pepper

I brought the broth and bouillon cube to a low boil and added the carrots and celery. I added the pasta, corriander, garlic salt and a few cracks of pepper and cooked until the noodles were done. While they were cooking away, I pounded out the chicken, then quickly fried it until cooked through and cut it into Kaia-sized pieces. I added the chicken, a pat of butter, the peas and a little salt and pepper to the broth, gave it stir and ladled it into a Dora Bowl. It turned out pretty good for a spontaneous soup and Kaia ate every drop.

Jason even tried it and decided he wanted a whole bowl. I thought it was really good too.

The Ultimate Chicken Pot Pie

This is the most delicious pot pie I've ever made or tasted. It's a hearty mix of juicy chicken, peas, sautéed onions, and carrots with of course some butter and heavy cream for riches. It's a bit of work, but worth it if you have the time. The recipe can be found by clicking here. Use bone-in, skin-on chicken for more flavor. I also add fresh, diced celery and a cup or so of frozen corn. I blanch the celery with the carrots and add them at the same time. As for the corn, I throw it in at the end along with the peas. I omit the pearl onions, because the recipe calls for two whole onions, plus 1 1/2 cups pearl onions, but I would suggest just adding half the amount of pearl onions for they are quite tasty. To save time, buy puff pastry instead of making it from scratch. A nice salad with cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, chèvre and homemade ranch is a great accompaniment and really all that is needed since the soup itself is so filling. Oh, but don't forget a good bottle of wine. Cheers.

Another thought...small, cubed, red potatoes(skin-on) would be very good. 1 1/2 to 2 cups perhaps. Adjust other ingredients accordingly.