My grandmother was from that generation that rarely ate out, also made dinner from scratch and made things last as long as possible. She would make her own bone broth for soups and store them in her old ice box from the 1950’s, which despite it’s age worked like a champ as appliances from that time were made to last. Some of my earliest memories of her are her cooking in the kitchen, starting dinner as early as mid-afternoon before my grandfather got home from working in the elements all day. She worked incredibly hard, performing invisible labor to support her family that homemakers often receive little recognition for, but I wanted to honor her with this recipe today.

What is Chicken and Rice?

Chicken and rice is a one-dish meal that includes pan-fried, breaded chicken served in a sauce with rice and sometimes other vegetables. The sauce can be chicken or mushroom based, but I’ve always served this with mushrooms as my grandmother did when I was young. The cream of mushroom soup and fresh mushrooms complement the chicken well. You can serve it with a side salad or vegetable, but this is optional.

Start by combining the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl, then transferring to a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Slice the chicken breasts in half and pat dry, then add to the ziplock bag and seal shut. Shake to coat, and set aside. (Note: my grandmother’s original recipe does not include garlic powder or minced garlic, but I always add this because garlic is good with everything!)

Heat a thin layer of oil in your favorite large skillet until it starts to shimmer, then add the floured chicken breasts. These should not be touching each other when cooking, so feel free to cook in batches if necessary. Cook about 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown, then remove from the pan. While the chicken is cooking, gather the minced garlic, chicken bouillon, and cream of mushroom soup.

In the same skillet, add the minced garlic and cook on medium-high heat for one minute. Reduce the heat and add the cream of mushroom soup, chicken bouillon, and two cups of water, stirring continuously as it heats. You can substitute store bought chicken broth for bouillon and water if you prefer this to making your own, but if you cook with it a lot buying bouillon is cheaper. I recommend keeping an additional cup of broth on hand for this recipe as the broth cooks off fairly quickly.

Once the soup mixture is well blended, add in the rice and sliced mushrooms. Turn heat to medium-low and stir these in until covered, then add back in the chicken. Cover the skillet while simmering for about 30 minutes, checking every ten minutes to stir and add additional broth as needed. Turn the chicken within the mushroom rice mixture halfway through cooking.

Remove the covered skillet heat once the rice is done. Top with thinly sliced parsley to taste and serve immediately. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for three days, but the taste and texture will be the best within the first two days.

Grandma Bev’s Chicken & Rice Skillet

Course: DinnerDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

2 lb chicken breasts (about 2-3 breasts)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
olive oil for cooking
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1 10.75 oz can cream of mushroom soup
2 chicken bouillon or 2 tbsp powdered chicken bouillon
2 cups water
1 cup long cooking rice
Extra parsley

Directions

In a plastic bag, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pat chicken dry and slice thinly in half. Place chicken in bag and seal shut. Shake well to coat.
In a large skillet, heat thin layer of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook 8 minutes or until golden brown on each side. Transfer to a plate.
Turn heat to medium-low and add minced garlic to pan. Cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add in cream of mushroom soup, chicken bouillon and water to skillet and stir well. Add mushrooms and rice.
Stir the rice mixture well before returning chicken breasts to the pan. Turn chicken in pan to coat.
Cover skillet and simmer 30-45 minutes or until rice is done. Remove cover every 5 minutes and stir during simmer to prevent burning, adding extra chicken bouillon and water if absorbed before rice is finished., Top with parsley.

Notes

Chicken broth can be substituted for chicken bouillon and water.
Keep an extra cup of broth on hand in case the rice needs more liquid to finish cooking.
If you’re not a mushroom fan, substitute cream of mushroom soup for cream of chicken soup, and fresh sliced mushrooms for peas.