Chicken Rice Pilaf

Chicken Rice Pilaf.

The delicious and affordable dinner for your family.  

If you like chicken and you like rice, this is the perfect dish for you.

As the grocery bill seems to be on a rise every time you go shopping, it's worth spending a little time and make meal planning for the week so you can make delicious healthy meals and feel and feel good about it while keeping in the budget and even save money.

These is one of those recipes that are very cost efficient. I find that buying a whole chicken is one of the most economical ways to lower my grocery bill. Why pay extra for cutting and packaging if you don't have to, right?

This chicken rice pilaf dish is easy and very flexible to make as it doesn't require everything to be done at once. If you are short on time, some can be prepped ahead; the rice can be cooked ahead of time then, refrigerated. The mixed veggies can be cooked while the chicken is cooking. 

Last thing is putting it all together; mixing  the rice, veggies and chicken together and just bring it all to a simmer. Dinner is served!

Serve it with dill pickles or pickled beets. Delicious!!



Ingredients:
Rice:
2 cups rice
4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp. oil

Chicken Stew:
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
water
2-3 b. chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks, breast meat)
1 tsp. paprika

Vegetables:
2 cups chopped carrots
1/3 cup chopped parsnips
water
2 cups frozen peas
2 tbsp. minced, fresh parsley leaves
1 tbsp. Vegeta (or other similar vegetable seasoning)
Salt and pepper, to taste

To make the rice:  

Place 2 cups of rice in a pot, cover with 4 cups of water. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook covered for 15 minute. (Do not stir while cooking). Remove from heat. Set aside.

To make chicken stew:

Place chopped onions in a large pot. Add oil, water and salt and sauté until the onions become translucent.

Add the chicken pieces and stir them around. Sprinkle with paprika, and pour over enough water to cover the chicken. Let it cook on medium-low heat until chicken is done, that takes about 1 hour. (I like to cook the chicken until the meat is separating from the bones :-)


Vegetables: 

In a separate pot, place carrots and parsnips and enough water to cover it. Cook until tender, for about 10 minutes, then add peas and cook 4 minutes longer. Stir in parsley and vegeta seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste.


Putting it together; while still hot, mix the vegetables into the chicken stew, then add the rice (if rice is cold, warm it up in the microwave before adding it) and stir to mix.


Remove from heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

 

Serves: 6 peoples
 
Happy Cooking!

Leia