Week 6: Chicken Crack

This tastes a lot better than it looks in the picture! Actually, it didn't exactly look the most appetizing in real life, either. Very beige. But tasty. Very, very tasty. I've seen the recipe pop up in a couple of places online, always referred to as 'Chicken Crack', with the idea being it's so good it's addictive like crack.

I wouldn't go quite that far. It's quite tasty, but also a little boring for my tastes. Basically it's chicken risotto. My kids enjoyed it, however, so the recipe makes it into the make again pile, although I think next time I'll probably, at the very least, include some mushrooms in my portion. And something green. Some sauteed mushrooms and zucchini mixed in to the adult servings would be delicious. Maybe a handful of peas for the kids. Or at least a bit of parsley on top to relieve the beigeness!

All the pictures of the process wound up very beige (beige beige beige did I mention beige?), so I won't inflict them on you. They really aren't that appealing. But the final result is pretty tasty!

The recipe for Chicken Crack:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 is plenty)
3 tbsps. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice (doesn't have to be Arborio)
6 cups chicken broth (low sodium, or it might wind up too saltly)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. butter

Keep chicken broth warm and covered in a pot on the stove.

Cut chicken breasts into 1” pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a heavy deep pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until tender. Add chicken and cook until it begins to brown. Add rice and stir to coat.

Add 1 cup chicken broth, reduce heat to low, and cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Continue to add broth to keep rice covered, stirring frequently. Keep cooking and adding broth until rice is tender. Add cheese and butter just before serving.

Served with broccoli and cheese sauce, just because there wasn't quite ENOUGH beige, apparently, that I had to dump more beige on top of the only green
:
Note: I used home made stock for this, which I think probably makes a big difference, if only to the salt content. Commercial stock would change the final taste quite a bit, I suspect. Also, this recipe requires a lot of attention, which isn't exactly ideal with a couple of little kids! Fortunately the baby was taking a nap when I started cooking, and didn't wake up until it was almost ready. I'm not sure I would have wanted to be making this with her underfoot.