Something not canned. For a change.
Yes, I did do some canning today. Pickled beets, more tomatoes, and a very big jar of pickled ginger. But I did make a very nice dinner for myself that had nothing to do with canning or pickling or preservation of any kind.
In fact it is my most favorite kind of cold weather dish: baked chicken and rice.
The beauty of this dish is that it is not only delicious the night of, but it is equally tasty the next day for lunch and the following night for dinner.
I have a casserole that I pilfered from a box of yard sale bound items at a friends house. It is the perfect size for a two or three dish meal.
First I browned a few chicken thighs with a little sliced onion. I left the skin on one thigh, but took it off the others. Don't get me wrong I love me some fried chicken skin, but I just cannot stand it cold. So I only leave it on the one piece I have for dinner the night I cook it. After I brown the chicken, I remove the pieces to a plate and throw in about four cups of rinsed greens - kale, escarole, or spinach work well. Let those saute down a little bit - just wilted really, the water that clings to the rinsed leaves will make it easier to scrape up the tasty bits stuck to the pan.
Into the bottom of the casserole dump in about a cup of brown rice and a quarter to a half cup of water. Over that layer in the wilted greens to cover the rice. The browned chicken goes on top of the greens, and then I like to cover that with another veg, like carrots or cauliflower or potato. Add in a few whole peeled cloves of garlic if you like, maybe pour in another quarter cup of water, then cover the casserole and pop in a 375o oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Oh yeah and one other thing: I salt and pepper it after I cook it. I am a salt addict and so it is really easy for me to over salt everything so I have to be a little careful. Experience has taught me well.
In fact it is my most favorite kind of cold weather dish: baked chicken and rice.
The beauty of this dish is that it is not only delicious the night of, but it is equally tasty the next day for lunch and the following night for dinner.
I have a casserole that I pilfered from a box of yard sale bound items at a friends house. It is the perfect size for a two or three dish meal.
First I browned a few chicken thighs with a little sliced onion. I left the skin on one thigh, but took it off the others. Don't get me wrong I love me some fried chicken skin, but I just cannot stand it cold. So I only leave it on the one piece I have for dinner the night I cook it. After I brown the chicken, I remove the pieces to a plate and throw in about four cups of rinsed greens - kale, escarole, or spinach work well. Let those saute down a little bit - just wilted really, the water that clings to the rinsed leaves will make it easier to scrape up the tasty bits stuck to the pan.
Into the bottom of the casserole dump in about a cup of brown rice and a quarter to a half cup of water. Over that layer in the wilted greens to cover the rice. The browned chicken goes on top of the greens, and then I like to cover that with another veg, like carrots or cauliflower or potato. Add in a few whole peeled cloves of garlic if you like, maybe pour in another quarter cup of water, then cover the casserole and pop in a 375o oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Oh yeah and one other thing: I salt and pepper it after I cook it. I am a salt addict and so it is really easy for me to over salt everything so I have to be a little careful. Experience has taught me well.
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