Category: Chicken Dishes

Chicken and Gravy Over Rice

Sometimes you just want comfort food. I think I do at least a couple times a week. This recipe is definitely a comfort food.

I’ve been thinking about this dish for about a week and finally got around to making it. I knew I wanted chicken. I knew I wanted gravy. And, I knew I would serve it over either potatoes, pasta or rice. Rice won out.

I, personally, love jasmine rice and eat it almost exclusively as far as rice goes. But, it is starchy and it will be sticky if you don’t take the time to rinse it. For me, that isn’t a big deal – as I don’t mind sticky rice – but, just be aware in case you make jasmine rice for the first time. In case anyone wants to know, this is how I cook my rice. I use 1 cup of rice to 1 1/3 cup of water. After rinsing my rice, I add it to the water, along with some salt – cover and bring it to a boil. Once a boil is achieved, I turn it down to the lowest simmer possible (or, if I have time to wait, I sometimes just turn it off – but, if you do – keep the pot covered!). Your rice is done when all water has been absorbed.

For the gravy, I diced up 2 chicken breasts and seasoned with salt, pepper and umami seasoning. Since the chicken breasts are lean, I used a little bit of avocado oil spray in the pan. I cooked the chicken until it had a nice sear on it.

To the chicken, I added chicken stock, a can of cream of chicken soup and one packet of brown gravy mix.

I stirred the mixture until everything was well mixed and let it cook for a bit. Toward the end, I added in some heavy cream.

I wanted the gravy a little thicker, so I added a slurry to the pan at the very end.

Then served it over rice! It is an easy comfort food that I’m certain I will cook again.

Chicken and Gravy Over Rice

2 chicken breasts, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 cups chicken stock (save 1/2 cup for slurry)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 tbsp umami seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Avocado oil spray (or oil of choice)

Rice, cooked as directed

  • Dice chicken
  • Add chicken to a hot pan that has a little avocado oil in it – add in umami seasoning
  • Saute chicken until it is seared
  • Add in 2 cups of chicken stock, cream of chicken soup and gravy mix – stir until well mixed
  • Let the chicken and gravy cook for about 10 – 15 minutes
  • Add in heavy cream and mix through
  • If your gravy isn’t thick enough, use the reserved chicken stock to make a slurry and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the gravy thickens
  • Serve the chicken and gravy over rice
by Michelle

Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

It seems like it’s been a while since I’ve made pasta for more than just one. But, that is exactly what I decided to do tonight – and, man oh man, did it hit the spot! It was a hit with everyone – and this is one that will definitely be making it into our normal rotation!

I started by prepping the ingredients – cubing the chicken, cutting the bacon and the asparagus.

I cooked the bacon first. Once it was done, I removed it from the pan and set it aside.

Then I added in the chicken and the umami seasoning and cooked it until the chicken was almost done. There is just something about cooking chicken in bacon fat – you just can’t go wrong!

Finally I added in the asparagus and sauted it for a few minutes.

Then I added in the chicken stock, salt and pepper – and allowed this to cook, covered, until the chicken was fully done and the asparagus had started to soften.

To finish the sauce, I added in the heavy cream and the parmesan cheese. I stirred the mixture well, allowing the cheese to melt.

While working on the sauce, I cooked the pasta (in well salted water!) until it was about 1/2 done. After the cheese had melted in the sauce, I added the pasta to the skillet, along with about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

The dish then cooked until the pasta was fully done and the sauce thickened.

Just before serving, I added in the bacon and mixed it through.

This was a delicious meal and one that I know we’ll repeat time and again!

Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 slices thick cut bacon, cut into smaller pieces
1 box pasta (a short pasta will work best)
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 – 3/4 cup pasta water
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp umami seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

  • Prep chicken by cutting into 1 inch cubes
  • Prep asparagus by cutting into 1 inch pieces
  • Prep bacon by cutting into small pieces
  • Cook bacon and remove from pan
  • Add chicken to pan and season with umami seasoning, cook until almost done
  • Add in the asparagus and saute for a few minutes
  • Add in the chicken stock, salt and pepper – cover and cook until chicken is well done and asparagus is starting to get tender
  • Add in the heavy cream
  • Add in the parmesan cheese and melt
  • Cook pasta in well salted water, until it is about 1/2 way done
  • Add pasta to the pan, along with 1/2 – 3/4 cup of pasta water
  • Cook until the pasta has finished cooking and the sauce has thickened
  • Add bacon in at last minute
by Michelle

Chicken and Arborio Rice Skillet

We know a couple things about me and my cooking – I like rice, I like chicken and I love a one pot / skillet meal! I love the simplicity of it (not to mention the easy clean up!).

This recipe uses just a few ingredients: chicken, arborio rice, onion, garlic and a few seasonings. I intended to also add in mushrooms, but – sadly – my mushrooms had started to go bad.

The first thing you’ll want to do is to spray your chicken breasts with avocado oil (you could use canola oil or other oil, if you like) and sprinkle on some salt, pepper and umami seasoning. These seasonings are in addition to what is mentioned in the recipe, below. You’ll just want to season to your liking.

In a hot pan (I used a large non-stick skillet, but a large cast iron pan would work too), add in your seasoned chicken breasts. Allow them to cook for 3-5 minutes, or until you get a good sear on the chicken – then flip the chicken breasts and sear the other side. Then, remove from the pan.

There may be some residual oil in the pan, but if not, spray in a little avocado oil and add in your onions. Cook for a few minutes, until the onion starts to soften.

Then add in your garlic and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

To the onion and garlic, add in your arborio rice. Certainly, you can use another rice if you like – but, the arborio rice is so starchy and it makes the dish very creamy (without any cream added). If I were to use another rice, I would probably add a bit of cream, personally. Stir the rice around and let it toast a bit with the onions and garlic.

Then add in the chicken stock, salt, pepper and umami seasoning. You’ll want to bring it up to a boil, then reduce the heat.

Finally, add the chicken back into the skillet – cover and cook for approximately 35 minutes (or until your chicken is done – 165 degrees – and the rice has absorbed most of the stock).

This skillet dish is super creamy. It seems so decadent, even though you don’t add any cream to it!

Chicken and Arborio Rice Skillet

We ate this with some delicious brussel sprouts

2-4 Chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 onion, rough chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt (+ an extra dash for the chicken)
1 tsp pepper (+ an extra dash for the chicken)
1/2 tbsp Umami seasoning (+ and extra dash for the chicken)
Avocado oil spray

  • Chop onions, set aside
  • Spray chicken breasts with avocado oil
  • Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and umami seasoning
  • In a hot skillet, sear the chicken on both sides (about 3-5 minutes each side) and then remove from the pan
  • Add in onions and let them start to soften
  • Add in the garlic and let it cook
  • Add in the rice and stir to toast the rice a bit
  • Add in the chicken stock, salt, pepper and umami seasoning and mix through – let come to boil
  • Add the chicken breasts back into the pan
  • Cover and cook for 35 minutes (until your chicken is 165 degrees and rice has absorbed most of the liquid)
by Michelle

Chicken Fajitas

Mexican food is one of my family’s favorites. We have a local Mexican restaurant that we love, but I’ve made a conscious decision to not eat out as much. But – today, I was craving Mexican. I decided to make chicken fajitas.

I started with 2 chicken breast, cut into thin strips – you know, just like the fajitas you get at your favorite restaurant.

I was only adding peppers and onions to my fajitas – I used one red bell pepper, one green bell pepper and one yellow bell pepper – along with one yellow onion. I sliced them all into thin strips.

I decided to use my cast iron wok to make the fajitas – but, you can use any large skillet. I started by spraying some avocado oil spray in the wok. I added my chicken and seasoned with 1/2 of the seasonings that the recipe calls for.

I cooked it just long enough to brown the chicken. I, then, removed it from the wok.

I sprayed a little more avocado oil in the pan and added in my vegetables, along with the remainder of the spices.

I stir fried them until they started to soften.

I added the chicken back in the wok to finish cooking.

Since I was using a cast iron wok, I used that to my advantage and spread the chicken and vegetables out – allowing the pan to give a good sear the chicken and vegetables.

After stir frying the chicken and vegetables for a bit, I used a lid from a large skillet to cover the pan – and allowed it to cook for another 15 minutes or so.

After removing the lid, the chicken fajitas were ready to go.

I ate mine on flour tortillas, topped with sour cream and salsa.

Chicken Fajitas

2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into srips
1 onion, halved and sliced into thin slices
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
Avocado oil spray

Tortillas
Sour cream
Salsa

  • Prep chicken and vegetables
  • In hot pan (I used my cast iron wok), spray avocado oil
  • Add in chicken, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp chili powder and cook unitl browned (don’t cook all the way) – remove from wok
  • Add more avocado spray, if needed
  • Add in vegetables, and remaining spices cook for about 10 minutes
  • Add chicken back into the wok
  • Cover and cook for approx 15 minutes – stirring occassionally
  • Serve with tortillas and toppings of your choice
by Michelle

Creamy Chicken and Cannellini Bean Soup (Instant Pot)

This is a super quick recipe for a busy weeknight. And, that is just what I needed after arriving home late from work!

The first step is to cook your chicken. I cook mine in the instant pot and shred it in the same pot. I detailed how to do this, in this post.

As the chicken was cooking, I prepped the poblano pepper, shallot and cilantro and set it aside.

Once the chicken is done, and you’ve safely released the pressure, you just need to dump the remaining ingredients into the instant pot. Replace the lid and set the instant pot to the soup/stew setting, low pressure and 5 minutes.

Shallot, poblano and green chilis
Fresh cilantro

After your 5 minutes are up, do quick release and remove lid. The final step was to add in the cream (you can totally skip this part if you don’t want a creamy soup).

Easy peasy – a quick and delicious weekday meal!

Creamy Chicken and Cannellini Soup

2 chicken breasts, shredded
8 cups of chicken stock (including stock used to cook the chicken)
3 cans cannellini beans
1 – 7 oz can green chilis, medium
1 poblano pepper, diced small
1 shallot, diced small
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup heavy cream or half and half

  • Cook and shred chicken in the Instant Pot (use 1 cup of chicken broth to cook the chicken)
  • Chop poblano pepper, shallot and cilantro
  • Once chicken is cooked an shredded, add in the remaining ingredients, all except the cream, and put lid back on instant pot
  • Set instant pot to soup/stew setting, low pressure and 5 minutes
  • Once the timer goes off, release pressure and add in cream and stir through
  • You can add jalapenos, more lime juice, cheese or chips, if you like
by Michelle