Pressure Cooker Recipe #2 : Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Happy Monday! I am back to using the pressure cooker this week. I have four meals planned this week using it and I am excited to try them all! I have started quite the buzz about the pressure cooker. My dad wants to borrow it when we go on vacation in a couple of weeks and try it out. It really is so easy to cook with. Tonight we made Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Broccoli Florets. Easy meal to make using staples you have around the house.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Broccoli Florets from Bob Warden's Great Food Fast

Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 5 min Temperature: High Serves: 4

Shopping List
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 yellow onion, diced
1 1/3 cups long grain white rice, rinsed well
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
3/4 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used 2% sharp cheddar.)
3 cups frozen broccoli florets (It calls for 2 cups but we decided it needed more.)

1. With the cooker's lid off, heat oil on HIGH or "brown", and saute until sizzling. Add the chicken and onion,  and saute until chicken is lightly browned and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add rice, chicken stock, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, securely lock the pressure cooker's lid and set for 5 minutes on HIGH.
3. Perform a quick release to release the cooker's pressure.
4. With the the cooker's lid off, set to high or "brown". Whisk together flour and milk, add to the cooker, and simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Stir in cheddar cheese and broccoli florets and let simmer 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and broccoli is warmed throughout. Serve immediately.

This recipe made a ton. I am taking my left overs to my grandmother tomorrow because she loves broccoli cheese casserole and I will definitely be eating this for dinner tomorrow night! When you need some comfort food, this hits the spot.

Oh and a confession. You know how I professed my love for QVC's In the Kitchen with David. Well, we were watching the show on Sunday morning and we made another purchase.

Kuhn Rikon Soft Edged Flexible Spatulas

Eric just had to have them and "has been wanting something like that forever" so I used my convenient QVC app to order them. They should be here shortly! He just had to have them because he got a new pan this weekend (Macy's was having 25% off).

 

All-Clad Stainless Steel Nonstick French Skillet, 11 inch

What can I say? The guy likes his pans....

Have a good week!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner: Part 2

We eat a lot of chicken. I am always looking for new and easy chicken recipes.

I also have been Pinning on Pinterest a ton and decided I needed to make something from my pins (follow me emilyb83). If you haven't joined Pinterest yet, you are missing out. (I am talking to you Ashley!) I have been a pinning fool lately, mainly due to the fact I am bored out of my mind at my current job and counting down the minutes to my last day on Friday. (Starting a new job too... more on that to come.)
You might remember this easy chicken recipe I made earlier this year from this post creatively called Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. Well, here is Winner Winner Chicken Dinner: Part 2. They are similar recipes, but I think Part 2 is the winner. I found this recipe for Parmesan Garlic Chicken on Kayln's Kitchen blog.

Source: kalynskitchen.com via Emily on Pinterest

You can access the original recipe on the link above, but I actually only made two chicken breasts with the recipe below. I think hers must have not been the huge, hormone induced chicken breasts I apparently buy. I did eat only half my chicken breast and am having the other half for lunch today! Eric's chicken breast seriously had to be close to a pound, but don't worry he ate it all. It also says to marinate for a day, I did it around 4:00 and cooked it around 7:00 and it was still tasty.

Parmesan Chicken with Garlic and Herbs

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp. crushed garlic (garlic puree from a jar is perfect here)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (oops I realized I used regular olive oil here)
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (I used Penzeys)
1/4 cup whole wheat Panko bread crumbs (I used regular, plain bread crumbs.)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Combine crushed garlic, olive oil, and poultry seasoning in small pan and heat 1 minute, until just warm.

Trim all visible fat and membranes from chicken breasts, then make small crosswise slits about 1/2 inch apart down the length of each chicken breast, being careful not to cut too far into the chicken. (This helps the garlic and herb flavor penetrate the chicken more.) Put chicken into zip loc bag, pour heated oil over, and marinate all day in refrigerator (or a couple of hours).

To cook, take chicken out of refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for a few minutes while you preheat oven to 425.

Mix bread crumbs and parmesan (pulse a few times in food processor if the mixture isn't fine enough.) Place cheese/breadcrumb mixture in flat dish and dip each chicken breast into it, pressing on as much of the coating as you can.

Place each chicken piece in casserole dish which has been sprayed with nonstick spray. or olive oil. Bake until chicken is firm and cooked through, about 25 minutes, then put under the broiler to brown more if desired. Actual cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken breasts, but chicken should feel firm but not hard when it's cooked.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Hi, I am alive. Never fear. Don't really know why I haven't been blogging. Just haven't! This is not a very exciting post, but I thought I would share what I made for dinner on Monday night. I am trying to use ingredients we have around the house up and just buying fresh fruit and vegetables at the grocery this week. I had two chicken breasts so here is what I did!

I took 2 chicken breasts and dredged (soaked) them in a cup of low fat Italian dressing then immediately coated them with Italian bread crumbs. (I just put a cup of bread crumbs in a pie dish and smushed it around!) Put them in a Pyrex baking dish (sprayed with Pam) and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes. Easy easy dinner and it was so good! Served with rice and asparagus. No picture, but for picture's sake, here is an Ollie pic.

 My, what long legs you have!

Happy hump day! I am off to my last physical therapy appointment. Hopefully I will be able to run again sometime before it is 100 degrees again in Dallas!