Chicken and Rice (Non-Complicated)

Recipes such as this make for warm, neighborly gifts greatly appreciated on a cold wintry day. 

As the title suggests, this really is not a complicated recipe. You can serve it as a soup. Or a stew. It's the kind of recipe you make in the morning or early afternoon and just keep it warm on the stove ... as you go back for a little more. And then just a bit more. Maybe dunk in a piece of nice buttered bread . . . You know what I mean.

It's even better the next day!

Although the recipe did not call for it, I added garlic, cheese, chicken stock and chicken base. If you cut up your vegetables the day before, this is a snap to prepare with little clean-up. What's not to like?

Most likely, you have all the ingredients in your pantry. This recipe uses skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. To make it even less expensive, I purchased a package of three leg quarters, cut off the thighs, and froze the drumsticks. You want the skin and bone for their flavor. Eventually, you will discard the bones. Do not use chicken breasts. If you can find them, use a mix of mushrooms for more flavor. 

RICE: You have several options for rice. I opted to used "Ready Rice" from Uncle Ben's. I used two packets of original. If they had it, I would have used one packet of "Wild Rice" and one packet of "Original." You could use raw, white, long-grained rice, in which case I would use anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 cup--just be sure to wash it in a sieve until the water runs clear.

• Salted butter
• Olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, sliced thin, chopped
• 1-2 cloves of peeled garlic, sliced thin
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1.5 lb. chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
• Salt and pepper
• 2 sprigs sage
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
• 2 cups cooked rice (see notes above)
• 1 T. chopped fresh marjoram or 1 tsp. dried
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme flakes
• 1/2 cup Parmesan or similar cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional)
• 1 T.  chopped fresh parsley
• Lemon pepper (optional)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a Dutch oven or large pan over medium heat. When hot, add about two teaspoons each of butter and olive oil. Add chicken, skin side down until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Flip, cook another two minutes. Remove from pan and place on a plate.

Add another 2 teaspoons of butter and oil to pan. Add your vegetables, stirring frequently until soft and translucent, about five minutes. Add sprigs of sage and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add stock to pan. Bring just to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Discard sage and thyme

Meanwhile, remove skin from chicken. Save. Using forks or you fingers, shred the meat and discard the bones. Using a sharp knife, finely mince the skin (it is loaded with flavor). Return chicken mixture to simmering pot. 

Add your rice, either cooked or raw. Add marjoram and dried thyme. Add whole sprig of rosemary, if using.

IF USING RAW RICE: Turn to a high simmer. Partially cover pot cook for about 30-35 minutes until rice is tender.

IF USING COOKED RICE: Keep heat at a low simmer. Cook gently for 20-30 minutes.

Remove rosemary sprig. 

Taste for salt. Add grated cheese. Mix until melted. Add cream. I add a sprinkle of lemon pepper, totally optional and a pinch or two of Bell's poultry seasoning.  Mix in parsley. Turn to a bare simmer and allow everything to warm through. Taste periodically adding salt, pepper, or more cheese, if needed.

Ladle into bowls and serve with a side of bread and/or fresh fruit.

 

4-Hour Roast Chicken

I'm not the biggest fan of turkey, unless maybe it's deep fried. And if I make a chicken, this is now the only way I do it. It has never failed me. The birds come out juicy and tender with a crisp crust and it makes its own gravy, so be sure to have a bowl of mashed potatoes ready. The spices are great. Sure, you could just purchase a rotisserie chicken from the store, but it won't be half as good. And take it from someone who worked in a deli--do you really know how long those birds were sitting in the cooler before they roasted them.......?

• 1 chicken, about 4 lbs.
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 medium onion cut into fourths or large chunks
• Equipment: Heavy Dutch Oven
• 
  

In a small bowl, mix spices except for rosemary. Set aside the cut-up onion. Rinse chicken inside and out. Pat dry. Rub chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place onion pieces in cavity and sprinkle the outside of the bird with dried rosemary. Place chicken in re-sealable plastic. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 250 F degrees. Place chicken in heavy dutch oven. I use a cast-iron enamel-lined oval Dutch oven. Pin cavity closed. Tie legs together (optional).

Bake, uncovered, for four hours or until bird reaches minimum temperature of 175 degrees, basting once-in-a-while during last 40 minutes or so. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Strain juices to serve as gravy.

Notes:  So, if you have a 3 lb. bird, figure roasting for about 3 hours. Because you're cooking at a lower temperature, I think it very important to take the temp. of the bird before removing from oven. BUT, because you are roasting at a lower temp., your bird won't dry out (did I just really say that?).

One-Pot Rice and Chicken (Easy Risotto)

This one-pot meal is really like a creamy risotto
but without all the stirring and standing over the stove.
You'll keep going back "for just a bit more."

I've made this several times now and I'm hooked. Do not attempt to prepare this with regular, long-grain rice. Why? It will turn out "mushy" opposed to "creamy." The Arborio rice gives it an unctuous, risotto-like consistency. To make it more frugal, I buy skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and de-bone and skin them myself saving the scraps to the freezer for use in soup stock later. A heavy-bottomed pan will ensure that the rice doesn't scorch. I use an enamel-lined, cast-iron Dutch oven. this recipe is not time consuming and one could cut the veggies and chicken the night before to make things go even faster.

I do recommend using your own homemade chicken/turkey stock and using a quality cheese you grate yourself.

• 1 large carrot, roughly cut
• 1 celery rib, roughly cut
• Shallots equivalent to about a 1/2 medium onion, roughly cut
• 1-2 cloves garlic, roughly cut

Place the above four ingredients in a small food processor and pulse just until chopped. You don't want a paste. You want one cup. A bit more is just fine. I leave some carrots in slices just for presentation.

• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 3 cubed, skinned and deboned raw chicken thighs, cut into chunks, about one cup or 8 ounces.
• 1 heaping cup raw Arborio rice
• 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
• 2 1/2  - 3 cups chicken stock

• 1/2 cup dry white wine (don't omit)
• 1/2 cup or more grated Parmessan cheese or similar
• 3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter (not margarine)
• Freshly chopped parsley

Add the chicken stock in a 3-4 cup measuring cup. Place in microwave and nuke until hot, about 5 minutes. 

Heat a bit of olive oil in a heavy pan. And the vegetable mixture and chopped mushrooms and sautee until softened and steam begins to dissipate. Push to one side in the pan and add the cubed chicken. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. After a few minutes, mix with the vegetable mixture until all is caramelized and meat begins to brown. It doesn't have to cook through at this stage.

Add the white wine. Stir and allow to reduce a bit. Add the HOT chicken stock. stir. Add the dried onion flakes and stir. Now add the rice. Bring back to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and allow to cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. How easy and fast what that?!

If too much liquid remains, remove cover and allow to simmer. But you want some liquid because Arborio rice absorbs quite a bit of liquid even after it's done. When a flat-bottomed wooden spoon leaves a visible path when scraped along the bottom of the pan, it's usually done.

Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat. Add butter and stir until melted. Now add the grated cheese.

If you want it creamier, just add a bit more of the reserved chicken stock.

Mix. Sprinkle with the parsley and mix. Serve with more cheese if desired.

NOTES: I've made with yellow onion but prefer the shallots. I've made it without the dried onion but prefer to add it for extra taste. This reheats very well and is even better the next day. If you've allowed it to get too thick, no problem--just add a bit more stock. Arborio rice is very forgiving. It's like a sponge.