While it seems to be all the rage now, my 84 year old Mother has been a one pot/one casserole meal-maker for decades! So it is that I am no stranger to quick and simple, but delicious dinnertime fare. Included near the top of the list of “There’s no time to fix a big meal” recipes is the old favorite Chicken with Rice. In my take on this concoction, we’ll keep it fast and simple, add some nutritious veggies and there will be no canned condensed soup to be found.
Measure 3 tablespoons of the oil into a pot over medium high heat. Add all the vegetables (except squash if using), lightly salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.
Pour the raw rice into the pot with the vegetables and stir every 30 seconds or so until rice just begins to brown.
Pour the rice and vegetables into a casserole dish.
Pound the chicken pieces; salt and pepper chicken on both sides. Measure 2 tablespoons flour into 1/2 cup cold milk and whisk to dissolve flour.
Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to fry pan over medium high heat. When oil shimmers, slide the floured chicken pieces into the pan and saute until chicken begins to just brown on both sides.
While chicken is cooking in the pan, add the squash (if using) to the rice mixture, stir to combine and spread evenly. Once browned, move the chicken to the casserole.
Add the milk/flour mixture to the chicken broth, stir to combine, then pour over the chicken. Cover the casserole and place in a 350 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes or until rice and chicken is done.
Serve hot.
- 1 Pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets, Optionally Pounded to ½ Inch Thickness
- 6 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- ¾ Cup All Purpose Flour Placed in a Cake Pan
- 1½ Cups Chicken Broth
- ½ Cup Cold Milk
- 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Raw White Rice
- ½ Cup Chopped Onions
- ¾ Cup Peeled and Sliced Carrots
- 1 Clove Garlic Chopped Finely
- ½ Cup Chopped Celery
- ¼ Cup Coarsely Chopped Green Bell Pepper
- 1 Medium Yellow or Green Zucchini Squash Sliced into Coins (Optional)
- Place a rack in the middle slot and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Measure 3 tablespoons of the oil into a pot over medium high heat. Add all the vegetables (except squash if using), lightly salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.
- Pour the raw rice into the pot with the vegetables and stir every 30 seconds or so until rice just begins to brown.
- Pour the rice and vegetables into a 2 quart casserole dish.
- Pound the chicken pieces; salt and pepper chicken on both sides. Measure 2 tablespoons flour into ½ cup cold milk and whisk to dissolve flour.
- Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to fry pan over medium high heat. When oil shimmers, dredge both sides of each chicken piece in the flour, then slide the chicken pieces into the pan and saute until chicken just begins to brown on both sides.
- While chicken is cooking in the pan, add the squash (if using) to the rice mixture, stir to combine and spread evenly. Once browned, move the chicken to the casserole.
- Add the milk/flour mixture to the chicken broth, stir to combine, then pour over the chicken. Cover the casserole and place in the 350 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes or until rice and chicken are done.
- Serve hot.
- Note: You might be wondering why you would want to spend the extra 5 minutes (plus clean up) to flour the chicken pieces and brown them. Browned flour brings added flavor and an attractive color to the chicken. Of course, you can blow this step off to save time. In that case, add the raw chicken pieces to the casserole over the rice and make sure it is done before service.
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