Receta Chicken and Veggie "Dirty" Rice
No offense, but you're getting the best I could rustle up from the sad and lonely remnants of my fridge today. Sorry!
Actually, I'm not sorry. I said no offense.
Don't you love that phrase? You can't get mad. I can say whatever I want, and as long as I preface it with "no offense" I'm in the clear. It's my free pass to be truthful.
(And if I'm really being truthful, this phrase grates on my very soul.)
Today, I say no offense because I don't want you to think you're not worth dinner that uses the freshest ingredients from the most organized and well-kept refrigerator. Truth: you and your stomach deserve only the very best.
Unfortunately, on my end, there's not a whole lot in there to work with today. It's Thursday. What are you gonna do?
I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to pull that chicken out of the freezer, grab the container of brown rice off the pantry shelf, and slice and dice every leftover veggie you have hanging out in your crisper drawer.
Then you're going to brown it up, simmer it down, season it well with stuff you probably already have, and enjoy this take on a refrigerator outcast dinner.
And who says you need to follow my ingredients list? Use up that leftover ground beef, ground turkey, or turkey sausage instead. I even threw in the last few frozen shrimp I had in the freezer. You can also consider barley or even quinoa, you health freak (no offense!), in place of brown rice. I used green cabbage because it looked so lonely and neglected in the back of the drawer, but throw in your celery, carrots, or zucchini instead.
What's that? I sound like a crabby bossy-pants? True. No offense taken.
Chicken and Veggie "Dirty" Rice
Yields 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
- 2 tbs canola oil
- Salt/pepper
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1/2 small head of green cabbage, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbs tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 c brown rice
- 2 c fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 lb frozen pre-cooked shrimp, thawed
Preparation:
Add 1 tbs canola oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, and add to the pan. Cook the chicken until lightly browned, approximately 4 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tbs of oil to the same pan, and add the onion, green pepper, and cabbage. Stir frequently until the veggies begin to brown.
Add your garlic, tomato paste, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add your rice and stir to combine. Add in the cooked chicken and chicken broth, stirring to combine.
Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season again with salt and pepper. This is when I added in the thawed shrimp. Cover and let heat through an additional 5 minutes.