It's hot and getting hotter here in San Antonio, so the time came to pull out the Slow Cooker once again. Cooking in the Slow Cooker means the kitchen doesn't get hot. Plus, it's easy clean up -- a one pot convenience, from table to fridge.
Here's my basic Chicken and Rice recipe, that I mess with to get different kinds of dishes. It may not be Food Network, but when people rave about it and ask how the heck you made something, then that's good enough for me. Figure I'd share this with you, Dear Reader.
I take chicken breasts (boneless) (a friend used pork chops here, he liked it) - 6-8 large.
Thawed or frozen.
Put them into the Slow Cooker.
Add brown rice or wild rice, 1 or 2 cups.
I add I can green beans (or peas and carrots, whatever you've got) and I use the water here as part of the water to make up the 2 to 4 cups of liquid I need to go with the dry rice I just put it (1:2 ratio, rice:water)
I add spices. These depend upon the veggies I have around.
Always salt and pepper.
The Variations ....
If you have mushrooms and onions, add them in and then spice it up with dijon mustard and a touch of cayenne.
If you have bell pepper and tomatoes, then add them in and spice it up with Mexican spices: chili powder, comino, add fresh cilantro at the end.
You get the idea.
Put it on the lowest cooking setting you've got. Leave it alone for half the time. Then check it. If the meat is looking 3/4 done, then change to the highest setting (this will finish up the rice). (My Cooker has six settings, Low (2,8, 0 hours) and High (2,8,10) hours; I start at Low for 10 and then change to High for 2).
Add any hot peppers you might like about an hour before it's done. If you put them in too soon, they can take over.
When the rice is done, then turn the setting to warm. Take a wooden spoon and break apart the chicken pieces into bite sized chunks.
Add lots of cheese and stir till melted. Again, this will coordinate with your veggies and spices. Swiss goes well with the mushroom and onions. Cheddar is nice with the Mexican combo.
You get the idea.
Now. Make a nice salad. Serve with some good bread and real butter. Tea.
Fabulous.
