Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice

Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice

Behold the cheesy, creamy goodness.

So buried somewhere in this link is the following recipe. It is painful and time consuming to find on their side. So without further ado:

Resources:
1.5 lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless
1 tbsp butter
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups heavy cream
10.5 oz cream of chicken condensed soup
2 cups white rice
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tsp parsley flakes

Method:
Cut chicken breast into strips.

Turn Instant Pot on to Sauté Normal. Add butter to the pot while it's heating up. Add the chicken breast slices to the pot and cook until almost no pink remains.

Add the water, heavy cream and cream of chicken soup to the pot and stir gently. Add the rice, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to the pot. Do not stir.

Place the lid on the Instant Pot, lock it in place and turn the steam release handle to the sealing position. Pressure Cook on High for 5 minutes*.

Once the Instant Pot is done cooking, immediately turn the steam release handle to do a quick release. Once the float valve is all the way down remove the lid.

Add the shredded Parmesan and parsley flakes to the pot. Stir well until the cheese is all melted. Cover until rice is done.

Commentary:
I only made minor modifications. If you are curious dig through the original link... and drown in the excessive that is food blogging for profit.

* - Seriously though, the rice was under cooked. I added the cover until rice is done line. Next time, I plan on adding a minute or two of cook time.

Aside: I always wonder if I will ever get a cease and desist letter. Can you own a recipe? How much do I have to change to not get in trouble. I barely touch the recipe I post

Conclusion:
I would not like to see a calorie count, but everyone loved it.

Jack-O'-Lantern Stuffed Peppers / Stuffed Skulls

I LOVE HALLOWEEN.

I started tracking the "Halloween appropriate" movies I would watch every October with the goal of a thirty-one in thirty-one days. It combined my love of Halloween, movies, and data.

Guess which year kiddo number one was born!

I have come to accept this is a lost hobby for the next several years. So I am trying to get my Halloween thrills in other ways.

The next best thing to a Texas Chainsaw Massacre marathon?

Jack-O'-Lantern Stuffed Peppers (original recipe)

Resources:
4 orange bell peppers
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup cooked white rice
1 cup chicken stock, divided
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cut off and reserve the top of each pepper. Remove and discard the cores and seeds. Carve a Jack O'Lantern face into each pepper. Drizzle the inside of each pepper with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the peppers upright in a large baking dish along with the pepper tops.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Sauté onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef and sauté until browned and cooked through, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Drain the fat.

Return skillet to stovetop. Reduce heat a little. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the chili powder. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, 1/2 cup chicken stock, cooked rice and 3/4 cup of cheese. Stir until the mixture is evenly combined. Remove from heat.

Divide rice and beef mixture between the hollowed out peppers. Top with remaining cheese.

Pour remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock into pan. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted.

Round two.

Stuffed Skulls (original recipe)

Resources:
1 cup shredded pizza cheese blend
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/2 teaspoon oregano
8 oz cream cheese
one medium chicken breast, cooked, cubed
1 teaspoon minced dried onion

1 tube pizza dough (14ish ounces I think)

Method:

Mix the pizza cheese, pizza sauce, and oregano in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix the cream cheese, chicken, and onion. 

Spray your skull pan with cooking spray.

Roll out the pizza dough and roll flat and thin. Cut into six equal rectangles.

Evil baking. I dig it.

Commentary:

The jack o' lanterns are great but just any old stuffed pepper at the end of the day.

The skulls were ok. My son and I liked the cream cheese skulls more. My wife liked the pizza skulls better. Naturally you can put just about anything in them.

Skull pans are hard to come by outside of Halloween time stock up appropriately!

The only challenge is getting the dough even. About half came out perfect. The rest leaked or had big dough sides.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, both will be made again. 

Also the wifey said, no stuffed peppers without face EVER. Yes dear.

Easy and Delicious Chicken and Rice Casserole

STOP! Are you a granola? Does food that come in boxes/cans offend you? Get the hell out of here if they do.

In honor of my life being on the verge of new born insanity, I bring you my lazy man favorite.

Taste that? That is minimal effort. Tastes acceptable!

Can you chop? Can you measure one cup? Do you consider stirring to be an acceptable amount of effort? If so, you may proceed. This is for you.

Resources:
~2 lbs frozen chicken breasts (still frozen)
1 packet Lipton (or equivalent) onion soup mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup uncooked rice
Pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix the Lipton, soup, rice, and pepper.

Place chicken in a 9"x13" baking dish. Pour soup mix over chicken (it will not completely cover it). Cover tightly with foil.

Bake for 60 minutes. Remove from oven. Remove and chop/shred chicken. Return the chicken, mix well, and cover again. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Commentary:
Onion soup mix and cream of chicken mixed together is like crack man. I can eat that shit straight.

Mmm. Brown crack.

The chicken is always a little dry and the there is always a bit of burnt rice. That is just part of this recipe. Accept it and move on.

Cooking time is pretty approximate. If you particularly large breasts (as I do), it may take a little longer. The key is make sure it is thawed when you chop / shred (cooked through is not necessary).

Speaking of chopping / shredding, make sure to dump the accumulated liquid from your cutting board back in.

The only real downside to this recipe is it takes too long.

Aside:
As noted, the wifey and I are in the home stretch of this whole pregnancy thingy-ma-jig. No telling when I will return. Until then, keep cooking friends!

Conclusion:
Do not expect a five star review on this one. This is not a regular. It just for the days I am feeling lazy and have a hundred minutes to spare. Damn it is easy.

Adobo Chicken and Rice



It is not pretty, but damn is it ever convenient.


So most of what I have posted to date has been recipes I have either loved or found unique. This is neither of those. This is easy, like your mom. BURN! It is filing. It resents the four "classic" food groups. The wifey likes it. It makes for great left overs. I could go on. Point is this is a quick easy type thing not a gourmet kind of thing.

Resources:
1 container (8 oz.) yellow rice
1 tablespoons oil (roughly)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
2 teaspoons Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning without pepper
1/4 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Method:
Over medium heat, bring 2 cups water to boil. Add contents of yellow rice mix; return water to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook, covered, until water is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and onions to skillet. Cook for a minute or two. Add chicken and Adobo. Mix well. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are soft and chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
Stir in cooked chicken and veggies into the rice until combined. Mix in cheese a handful at a time, stirring until melted. Serve warm.

Commentary:
Make sure you pan is big enough for everything, ie if it is nearly full with just the rice it is not big enough. Or you can do it the opposite route and add the rice to the chicken, whatever is easier.

We've tried a couple different brands of yellow rice, but this one is our preferred.



By "our" I mean the wifey's as I cannot tell the difference between this and the other Vigo Yellow Rice.

I usually mix up the cheese. We usually use half shredded cheddar and shredded half reduced fat Mexican blend. Why those two? Those are the two cheeses we always have in the house.

Although pretty easy, this does require a fair bit of slicing an dicing.

I cheated and used pre-shredded cheese.

I frequently make this in double batches. One batch is just about right (or maybe a bit much) for the two of us. A double batch allows for a couple meals of leftovers as well.


So we make this a fair bit and I decided to buy the bulk Adobo seasoning. The lid did not like me. :(


Oh what a nice lid you have. The better for measuring spoons.
Right?

Oh look, it is even conveniently labeled which one is the spoon side. How nice.

DENIED!!!

Conclusion:
Happy wifey! Leftovers galore! Minimal effort and cleanup! What is not to love?

Brazilian Beer-Marinated Chicken with "Chipotle" Rice

So this recipe sounds perfect for one's macho man side right? It requires sixteen ounces of beer. Gosh darn it, the beer only comes in twelve ounces bottles. I guess I will have to drink that extra eight ounces. Plus it is on the grill! 



Mmm. Manly dinner.

 
Too bad I hate this beer.

One for the recipe... one for the drain.

Truth is this is the wifey's favorite recipe. And ever since discovering the magic that is spice bags, it is pretty high on my list as well. So crack a beer, light the grill, and get ready to earn bonus points with the wifey (at least with mine if you invite her over).


Unrelated to anything, I find this oddly pretty.


Brazilian Beer-Marinated Chicken
Resources:
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon prepared ginger
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds in a spice bag (see commentary)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 cups Xingu Black Beer (see commentary)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into long strips (2.5 - 3 lbs)
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Method:
1. In a large shallow dish, mix the garlic, ginger, paprika, salt, black pepper, caraway seeds, mustard, beer and oil. Mix well. Add the chicken, then add the onion & peppers, cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours) turning once or twice.

2. Line the upper rack of the grill with foil. Light the grill.

3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill over high heat. Put the onions & peppers on top of the chicken. Baste occasionally. After about 25 minutes (less for thinner chicken), move the onions & peppers to the grill, flip the chicken. Baste the chicken and onions & peppers occasionally. After about 10 minutes move the onions & peppers to the foil lined upper rack. Grill another 15 minutes or until the chicken is booked through.

4. Remove the onions & peppers to a plate. Put the chicken on top. Microwave the butter until melted. Mix in the cilantro. Pour over the chicken. Cover for 3-5 minutes. Then serve with rice.

"Chipotle" Rice (this is 1/3 of what I usually make)
Resources:
1/2 cup white rice (uncooked)
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon and 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon oil
Water (amount as instructed by the rice being used)

Method:
Mix water, lime juice, salt, and oil. Cook per the rice's instructions, stirring occasionally. When the majority of the water is absorbed by the rice add the cilantro. Cook until no water remains. 

Green team go, go, go! Add that cilantro!

Commentary:

I use a 13"x9" baking dish to marinate the chicken in. That dish is pretty darn full. Make sure you use a large enough dish.

 

Yup. Pretty full.

 

Garlic seems to be a big hang up in the cooking world. Peeling is a pain, so some people use pre-minced garlic and blah, blah, blah. That is fine, but I just do not see the difficulty. I lightly crush with the flat of a blade and trim the ends. I find this makes peeling really easy eighty plus percent of the time. Then I use a garlic press in this particular recipe (or mince or whatever the recipe calls for).

Careful. Someone told me knives are sharp.

Me smash!

Woo! Another one use kitchen tool!

Ginger on the other hand I use the prepared stuff. Ginger does not cycle nearly as fast as garlic in my house.

 

I strongly recommend using spice bags. Hell I will not make it them without anymore. Biting into a caraway seed is awful! They are less than a buck a piece. They are also in theory reusable, but that did not go well the time we tried.



Worth their weight in brownie points with the wifey.

I try to cut the onions & peppers into long strips. You will lose some of them down the grill. The longer they are, the easier they are to keep. Speaking of which, the original recipe only used a half a pepper. More onions & peppers are better if you ask me. Hell, if my onions are small I will use one and half.

Xingu Black Beer is an anise black lager from Brazil. It is pretty common at larger beer shops but I rarely see it at small ones. I used an Imperial Russian Stout as a sub once when I could not find it, but it was not the same. Use Xingu unless you have exhausted all other options.

The lighting the grill AFTER putting the foil on the upper rack is kind of an important order thing. I like my hands with minimal burns.

Touch the metal THEN apply fire. Got it.

 

My grill is old and the grill surface is not great. I heavily oil the grill to prevent sticking. I usually use olive oil, but I have been told peanut is better to reduce flare-ups. Cannot say I have ever tried it though.

Getting the onions & peppers just right is really hard. Keep an eye on them. They go from undercooked to blacked quickly. Plus there is the whole between the grates problem.

That one on the left is making a break for it.

 

You are supposed to slash with a lime before serving, but I do not usually bother.

Leftovers are great. Dice the chicken, mix with some rice, and douse with a bit of the accumulated juices. Refrigerate. Microwave the leftovers, stirring occasionally. Almost as good as the original.

The rice is a Chipotle rice imitation recipe I think goes great with the chicken or by itself. I TRIPLE it typically for Brazilian Beer Chicken because I like lots of rice.

This is a recipe I have made countless times and is somewhat involved. I have tried my best here to cover all the details of how I actually make it. So if it looks like I missed a step, made assumptions, or something just is not clear feel free to comment below and I will do my best to fill you in.

Conclusion:

Yup, that was manly.

 

I will make this again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Rather I like it or not (luckily I do).