Chicken and Rice

I love chicken and rice and will usually go the shortcut route and start with a box rice and add my chicken, broccoli, and cauliflower. This time I tried this recipe from Half Baked Harvest, tweaked it a little here and there. It’s heavier than the one I usually make in that it has a lot of cheese but it was so good!

I baked my chicken first with olive oil spray and Trader Joes Aglio Olio so I could pull some out for Eva that prefers her rice plain. But if you didn’t have to do that you could certainly just have a one pot meal.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 – 1 pound chicken breast cut into small chunks
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 tbs butter
• 2 tbs fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 1/2 cup broken spaghetti
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups broccoli and cauliflower
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 8 oz cheddar cheese

Instructions

• In a large pot, set over medium heat, combine the olive oil, chicken, and onion. Cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the butter, thyme, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne.
• Mix in the rice and pasta, cook until golden and toasted, 2-3 minutes.
• Add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Add the broccoli and cauliflower and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook, covered for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is mostly cooked.
• Once the rice is cooked, stir in the milk. Add the cheese, then remove from the heat. Stir until creamy.