Classic Chicken and Rice {recipe}

I shared this recipe with my email group, and I don’t always put those recipes here on the blog. But this week – while we are at home to keep COVID to ourselves – I felt the need to share this recipe with you! 

If any food truly nourishes body and soul – it’s chicken and rice. Protein for your achy muscles, carbs for energy while your body works to get better, bone broth for flavor and collagen, and an entire clove of garlic (because garlic is good for everything!).

The ample butter and parmesan are purely to show off and make this chicken and rice creamy and delicious. You can view the original recipe at https://natashaskitchen.com/creamy-chicken-and-rice-recipe/

My recipe modifies the original a bit to suit what I keep on hand, decrease the oil, and add more veggies (y’all, I know I produce all kinds of meat for you to eat, but I LOVE veggies and they’re vital sources of nutrition as well! Omnivores UNITE!).

I’ve had a few people comment that they made this recipe after I shared it initially, so I’m confident you will have success with it too! It’s easy enough for a weeknight (especially if you start with leftover chicken), and makes plenty for leftovers.

Classic Chicken and Rice
A comfort food favorite, only slightly modified through many rounds of trial and error from this original recipe:
https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/06/26/creamy-chicken-and-rice-recipe/
 
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 med onion, diced
3 large carrots, grated
Half a bag of frozen peas or mixed veg
2-3 cups leftover chicken**
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine (add a little extra stock if you don't have wine on hand)
4 cups homemade chicken bone broth (or chicken stock)
2 cups Jasmine or long-grain rice
1 head garlic (slice off the top to expose the bulbs, but leave the root intact)
¼ - ½ c. shredded parmesan or asiago, plus another TBS of butter
 
Sauté onion and carrots with butter in a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Add in frozen veggies and stir until they're heated. Heat your bone broth or chicken stock in a separate pot and bring to a boil. Once the veggies are soft, add in the chicken, bay leaves, salt and pepper and sauté until the chicken is heated (or cooked through). Add the white wine, increase your heat, and reduce until most of the wine is gone. Now stir in the heated broth and then the rice. Settle the head of garlic (top side down) into the rice. Bring everything to a rolling boil, and then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is cooked (about 15 minutes, or what the instructions on your rice indicate). Once the rice is cooked, turn the heat off and remove the garlic (push the cloves out into the chicken and rice once the garlic has cooled enough to handle). Stir in the butter and cheese, and serve while warm! This dish makes for excellent leftovers.

**I originally used this recipe as a way to reinvent leftover roasted chicken. You can also cook about 1.5lbs of boneless thighs in your buttered dutch oven first thing. I recommend cutting your chicken into bite size pieces before you cook it – it just cooks faster. Cook your chicken, remove to a plate, and then carry on with the recipe as written. Don’t drain what cooks off of the chicken – use it to sauté your veggies and add tons of flavor!