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

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

40

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.

One-Dish Dinners:

• One Pan Balsamic Italian Chicken
• Shredded Chicken Tortilla Soup

Latest Posts:

• Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
• Oven Roasted Carrots
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Nothing quite beats homemade soup. As we ease into the fall months and the days start getting shorter, chicken tortilla soup is one of those recipes that’s simultaneously filling as it’s reminiscent of summer passing with fire roasted tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, limes, and avocados. This recipe calls for shredded chicken, so make sure to pre-cook and shred chicken or buy as a rotisserie to have it on hand. If you’d like my super easy crock pot shredded chicken recipe, see here!

What do I serve it with?

Chicken tortilla soup can be served with a variety of toppings depending on preference, such as cilantro, shredded cheese, or sour cream. The most common topping for chicken tortilla soup is definitely the tortilla strips. I love the multi-colored ones, but there are a variety of these available at your local grocery store.

Start by gathering the ingredients, particularly the vegetables and seasonings. This recipe calls for a fair amount of chipotle powder and cumin, which is both delicious and provides a bit of a kick. If you prefer your soup on the milder side, you can reduce the amount of these provided, but I would personally keep it as is. Finely chop the bell pepper, jalapenos, onion, and mince the garlic. In the image above, I doubled the recipe to freeze leftovers.

Heat the bottom of a cooking pot with oil on medium-high heat, and throw in chopped vegetables and garlic. Stir for two minutes, then add in the spices and continue to stir for another minute. This allows the seasonings to fully incorporate their flavors into the vegetables.

Place the tomato paste, corn, and fire roasted tomatoes to the cooking pot. Once the tomato mixture is thoroughly combined, add in the cooked shredded chicken, chicken bouillon, water, and salt. Once the mixture reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for an additional 20 minutes. I personally love chicken bouillon cubes or powdered bouillon that you can purchase from the grocery for it’s economical value, but you can always use chicken broth or stock to substitute this. If you choose to use chicken stock, use four cups of stock and an additional two cups of water.

After simmering the soup for twenty minutes, squeeze lime juice into the soup mixture and serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, sliced avocados, and/or tortilla chips. Cheddar or mexican-blend shredded cheese from your local grocery store work best with this recipe. If you have leftovers or wish to meal prep for the freezer, chill the soup in the fridge before moving to freezer-safe containers. This soup keeps in the freezer for up to three months.

Shredded Chicken Tortilla Soup

Course: SoupsCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 onion diced

• 1 green bell pepper large, diced

• 2 tsp. minced garlic

• 1 Tbsp. cumin

• 1 Tbsp. paprika smoked paprika recommended!

• 2 tsp. chipotle pepper powder

• 1 tsp. chili powder

• 2 tsp. garlic powder

• 2 tsp. onion powder

• 6 oz. can tomato paste

• 1 1/4 cups canned or frozen corn

• 14 1/2 ounces fire roasted tomatoes

• 1 Lb Shredded chicken

• 4 chicken bouillon cubes

• 6 cups water

• 2 tsp lime juice

• salt to taste

• Toppings:

• avocado

• sour cream

• shredded cheese

• tortilla strips

• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

• Finely chop onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Heat pot with oil and cook chopped vegetables for 2 minutes.,
• Add cumin, paprika, chipotle powder, chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder to pot and cook another minute.
• Add in tomato paste, corn, and fire roasted tomatoes and stir until incorporated.
• Add shredded chicken, chicken bouillion, water and salt and bring to a boil, then reduce a simmer for 20 minutes mostly covered. Stir in lime juice and top with shredded cheese, tortilla strips, sour cream and cilantro to taste.

Notes

• Have leftovers or want to meal prep? Cover and cool in the fridge, then transfer soup to a freezer-safe container or freezer bags and freeze for up to three months. This recipe can easily be doubled to store servings for later.
• Have pre-cooked shredded chicken ready beforehand to reduce your prep time. See the link here for an amazing shredded chicken recipe!

Shredded Chicken Recipes:

• Hawaiian Chicken Salad Sandwiches
• Simple Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
• Spicy Chicken and Egg Bok Choy Ramen

Latest Posts:

• Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
• Oven Roasted Carrots
• Favorite Candied Yams
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Chicken salad is a great choice for lunch or anytime, and is fantastic on a sandwich, roll, or even a lettuce wrap. The best chicken salad sandwiches have a crunchy texture added from ingredients such as celery, onions, pecans, apples, pecans, and/or almonds. This recipe is sweetened with pineapple and relish, and is complemented well on sweet hawaiian rolls. If you prefer, you can use Kaiser rolls, croissants, or regular sandwich bread as well.

Start by gathering all of the ingredients, and finely dicing the celery and onions on a cutting board for the salad. The canned version of crushed pineapple works great for this recipe, but if you prefer to buy fresh and pulse in a food processor that’s totally okay too. I prefer to use miracle whip dressing, but you like mayonnaise better you can substitute this instead.

Mix together the dressing, celery, pineapple, onions, relish, and all of the seasonings in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, shred the pre-cooked chicken before adding in the dressing mixture and mixing thoroughly. Chicken breasts from a deli rotisserie chicken work great for this, or you can prep your own shredded chicken beforehand really cheap. Check out the Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Recipe for more details!

Once the dressing mixture has been added to the shredded chicken bowl, add in the pecans and fold in until well blended. Slice the rolls, and wash and cut the lettuce before serving. This recipe is good for three to four days in the fridge and makes excellent leftovers! I love this chicken salad with a side of kettle chips for lunch.

Hawaiian Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Course: MainDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cubed cooked shredded chicken breast

• 1⁄2 cup crushed pineapple drained

• 1⁄4 cup chopped pecans

• 1⁄4 cup chopped celery (about 2 small stalks)

• 2 1⁄2 tbsp finely chopped onion

• 2 tbsp sweet pickle relish

• 1⁄2 cup miracle whip dressing or mayo

• 1⁄4 tsp onion salt

• 1⁄4 tsp garlic salt

• 1⁄4 tsp paprika

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 tsp salt

• Bibb or Greenleaf lettuce (about 6 leaves)

• 1 pkg. Hawaiian rolls

Directions

• Chop celery and onion. In a small bowl, combine pineapple, pecans, celery, onion, sweet relish, miracle whip dressing, onion salt, garlic salt, paprika, pepper, and salt.
• In a larger bowl, shred chicken. Add in pineapple dressing mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Fold in chopped pecans. Slice rolls and lettuce.
• Serve on rolls with lettuce between bread and chicken salad.

Notes

• Tip: Place lettuce between bread and chicken salad to prevent moisture from making the bread soggy.

Shredded Chicken Recipes:

• Simple Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
• Spicy Chicken and Egg Bok Choy Ramen

Latest Posts:

• Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
• Oven Roasted Carrots
• Favorite Candied Yams
• Easy Cranberry Sauce
• Slow Cooker Pork Loin & Gravy