Chicken and Rice on the Speedy Side

Okay, so we aren't going to win any awards for most beautiful plate of food or most elegant dinner, but as anyone else with a child or a busy afternoon knows, sometimes you just have to go with what tastes good. And I guess I should say that by speedy, I mean the time that I have to spend actually preparing the food. The chicken and rice does take 45 minutes to cook, but the "hands-on" time is minimal. I found this recipe for chicken and rice when I was scrolling through chicken recipes online. It was one of those times when I didn't have tons of stuff to cook and didn't want to go to the grocery store. I searched for recipes online so that I could cook using what I had on hand. I found this one and thought, "Okay, I have everything to make that one. Winner." Anyway, it was a change from the regular old, bland chicken and rice. It sounds a little strange, but it is good. Add to that a side of carrots and squash from Southern Living a few months back, along with some steam-in-the-bag broccoli and you have a meal you can prep during nap time and cook with minimal effort.

Chicken and Rice:

1 Tbsp Oil

1 Tbsp Butter

1 lb. chicken

1/2 cup diced onion

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup water

3/4 cup rice (the quick cooking works best)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

First, cook chicken and onions in oil and butter like so:

While your chicken is cooking, mix the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Once chicken is cooked, add to rice mixture and stir. Pour into a greased baking dish and cook at 350 degrees for about 45 to 50 minutes. The size of the baking dish will make the cook times vary. I tried an 8x8 dish tonight and think that I like that size the best. It did not dry out the rice like a larger dish sometimes will.

Not the most attractive dish, but it is yummy

A few months back, I saw this as a quick side in Southern Living. It seemed easy enough, so I tried it. I love how quick this is. It seriously took 5 minutes to cook. You can prepare your vegetables ahead of time and put them in the fridge until you are ready to cook.

4 small squash

3-4 carrots

olive oil

salt

pepper

 

Peel squash, skins and all, using veggie peeler

Discard middle seeded section

Next, add your carrots

Add olive oil to skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add veggies, salt, and pepper.

Cook until desired level of doneness. Tonight, I timed this just to be able to say how fast it cooks. Mine cooked in 5 minutes. This looks like a large amount at first, but it cooks down quite a bit. We will have enough for one leftover portion tonight, so adjust the amounts depending on how many you have to feed.

This really is quick. I prepared everything during Jake's nap and popped the chicken and rice in the oven when I got ready for dinner. Jake played for a few minutes while I sauteed the veggies. Yummy and we have leftovers.