It has taken quite a while to update the blog. It has been a busy fall, and I have been screwing up recipes left and right. It took three tries to get this Garlic Chicken Rice dish maniac approved. Em and Norah both love the boxed rice and macaroni meals you can buy at the grocery store so I have been busy trying to make a homemade version.
After a couple weeks of trial and error I managed to get pretty close. My favorite thing about this dinner (aside from it tasting great) is that it comes together really quick and is ready in under 30 minutes. That makes it great for our weeknights.
To start our Chicken Rice and Pasta dish we will use 1 1/2 cups of white rice and 1/2 cup of broken up Vermicelli pasta. To make a seasoning mix, I will use ground chicken bouillon and garlic powder.
The rice and pasta goes into a pot with 2 tablespoons butter on medium heat. I let the pasta brown a little and stir to coat everything in butter.
Next I add 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. I stir that in, then add 4 cups of water. Turn the heat to high and let it come to a boil.
Once boiling reduce heat to medium low and cover. It will be done in 20 minutes.
While the rice and pasta is cooking I saute chicken breast tenders in a pan. I dust them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and garden herbs on both sides.
In a pan with olive oil and a little butter I cook them on both sides over medium high heat until browned. Then reduce heat to medium and let them cook through.
Now using my precision timing (otherwise known as luck) the rice, pasta, and chicken is all ready at the same time.
After 20 minutes of the rice and pasta cooking I remove from heat, uncover, stir, and let sit a few minutes. I chop the chicken into pieces and divide it up for a table of hungry kids.
It is a pretty big win for me to find a quick and easy to make dinner that no one complains about. I actually received compliments from Norah!
This makes enough for the five of us and at least 1 more lunch the next day. It would probably take two boxes of the store bought stuff to make that much. I haven’t crunched the numbers but I imagine this is much cheaper to produce at home over the long run.
- 1 1/2 cups white rice
- 1/2 cup Vermicelli, broken into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon dried chicken bouillon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
- 4 cups water
- 1 lb chicken breast tenders
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon herb blend
- In a pot on medium heat melt butter and add rice and pasta.
- Stir to brown pasta and coat rice in butter.
- Add bouillon and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Stir to combine.
- Pour in 4 cups waters and increase heat to high.
- Once boiling reduce heat to medium low and cover pot.
- Allow to cook 20 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover and stir.
- While rice and pasta is cooking dust chicken tenders with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and herbs.
- In a pan with olive oil and little butter brown chicken on each side for 2-3 minutes each.
- Once browned reduce heat to medium and cook chicken through.
- Top rice and pasta with cooked chicken and serve!