Impromptu Chicken and Rice

Hi there! I made a meal tonight that my husband and I enjoyed so much that I had to share it. I call it "Impromptu Chicken" because I had no idea what I was going to cook when I started. I knew I had chicken so I started googling some ideas. I knew I wanted to do it semi-slow cooker style on the stovetop. I came across this recipe for Chicken and Potatoes, but quickly realized I had neither potatoes, nor italian dressing. So, I improvised with a few of the ingredients from the recipe plus a few more!

Impromptu Chicken & Rice

Yield: 2

Prep: 5 Min.

Cook Time: 30 Min. - 1 Hour (or so)

Ingredients

2 chicken cutlets or breasts, frozen

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup sesame ginger dressing

1 cup chicken broth

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tbsp italian seasoning

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp cornstarch

Rice

1 cup long grain white rice

2 cups water

2 tb unsalted butter

Directions

As I've said before, I always forget to take meat out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge so I love any recipe when I can use frozen meat. That was the goal in doing a slow cooker stove top meal. I didn't really measure when I made the dinner so feel free to do the same. When typing up the ingredients, I just guessed at what I put in but it should be pretty close! 

First, stick the chicken breasts or cutlets in the bottom of a medium-large pot. I chose cutlets purely because that's what I had in the freezer. If you are cooking for more than two people or want to have leftovers, just put more than two in. If that's the case, you'll want to increase the other ingredients as well to compensate.

Add worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, dijon mustard, sesame ginger dressing, seasonings, garlic, and chicken broth. You may have to add more chicken broth if it looks like it's getting too low later on. For the sesame ginger dressing, I used Waldon Farms, which is carbohydrate free, sugar free, gluten free, fat free and everything! I like a lot of their dressings. You can find them online at Waldon Farms or at your local grocery store. 

Bring all of that to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Let sumer until chicken is cooked. I ended up cooking it for 1.5 hours but that was just because I was waiting on the husband to get home from the gym. I'd say 30 minutes to 1 hour but you can let it cook until you're ready. Get the rice started about 20 minutes before you want to eat. 

Cook the rice according to the package - 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. Throw in 2 tablespoons of butter too. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.

Add some cornstarch to the chicken, make sure to mix in it really well. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens (about 5-10 minutes). 

Pour the sauce over chicken on a bed of rice and serve. You will not be disappointed.. this is just amazing and delicious!

Husband Rating: A+

7 weeks of meal planning

Hey there!

This weekend I sat down and went through all of my cookbooks and came up with a list of meals to try for dinner at Chez Manon. Here's what the next 7 weeks looks like at our house:
(note: we always eat out or pick up something on Fridays)

Week 1
M - Country Style Chicken & Green Beans
T - Meatloaf & Oven Crisp Potato Wedges
W - Turkey Skillet Casserole & Corn on the Cob
Th - French Herb Chicken & Eggplant Provencal
S - Grill! (burgers, squash, corn, etc)
Su - Shrimp Fettuccini (This is a ? because we'll be visiting my dad's house but this is one of my favorite new recipes so if it doesn't happen, I'm definitely rescheduling it)

Week 2
M - Sausage Spanish Rice
T - Dilled Chicken & Potatoes
W - Baked Halibut with Lemon and Capers & couscous
Th - Meatballs & Baked Sweet Potatoes
S - Vegetable Curry & Rice
Su - Walnut Crusted Steak & Squash Stuffing Casserole

Week 3
M - Smoked Sausage Gumbo & Rice
T - Shrimp & Pesto Pasta & Bread
W - Walnut Chicken Saute & Quartered Herbed Potatoes
Th - Loaded Pizza
Su - Sweet & Tangy Pot Roast and Mac & Cheese

Week 4
M - Oven Fried Fish & Chips
T - Chicken Parmigiana & Homemade Noodles
W - Shrimp with Pasta & Feta w/ Garlic Bread
Th - Spicy Chicken in Peanut Sauce & Rice
Su - Savory Beef Stew & Bread

Week 5
M - Cajun Macaroni
T - Mediterranean Shrimp with Veggies
W - Steak Kebabs with Long Grain & Wild Rice
Th - Mexican Rice with Chicken
S - Chili
Su - Greek Turkey Burgers & Asparagus

Week 6
M - Curry Chicken & Rice
T - Shrimp Jambalaya & Rice
W - Chicken Fingers & Sweet Potato Fries
Th - Rotelle with Walnut-Gorgonzola Sauce & Salad
Su - Chicken Chili

Week 7
M - Almond Chicken Stir-Fry & Rice
T - Hamburger Supper
W - Skillet Braised Chicken with Roasted Veggies
Th - Pizza
(going out of town on this weekend)

In addition to the meals above, I'm going to make a number of soups to keep in the freezer for those nights that just don't pan out and for Saturdays with no meals planned. Here are the soups:

Corn Chowder
Butternut Squash Soup
Potato Leek Soup
Tomato Basil Soup
Mexican Chicken Soup
Chicken Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup with Sweet Potatoes
Chili
Chicken Chili

Based on what I currently have on hand, I have until Thursday to plan my grocery runs, find some coupons and do some research on freezing veggies. I'm hoping to hit a farmer's market or two this week as well. Local is always best!

Keep cooking!

Kara

This week's plan

Not sure if you can read it but here's the plan!

Turkey burgers and potatoes tonight! Pretty simple here, no recipe needed.