Recipe: Chicken and Veggie Brown Rice Casserole for Instant Pot

This year, I got myself a Christmas Present. An Instant Pot. I've been hearing about them for a while now and the people who have them absolutely love them. To be honest, I was skeptical. Could an Instant Pot really be THAT great?

Turns out, it is. I've actually started calling it my Magic Pot. So far, I really have not had any major fails, and it is saving me a lot of time on both the cooking and the clean-up. It's actually helped us to cut down on ordering out because I can go work out and still get dinner ready in a reasonable amount of time. Mostly I have tried other people's recipes, but once I got comfortable I started trying to create some of my own, like this one.

This recipe came about because I was trying to find a good chicken, veggie, and brown rice casserole, and everything I found had white rice. The first time I made this, I loved how it came out! I couldn't believe it worked! I thought maybe it was a fluke, so I have now made it 3 more times and also had a friend make it with a different brand of pressure cooker. It turned out great for her, too!

The true test... will the rest of the family eat it? My kiddo loves it!

I love that she is getting a protein, a healthier carb, and three veggies (onion, carrots, and broccoli)! The rice in this casserole really has a great texture-- it's very creamy, almost like a risotto.

I've posted the recipe below, but I wanted to give a few notes.

First, I'm sure you could adapt this to use white rice. You'd probably need to really adjust the cook time since white rice cooks a lot faster. However, I use mostly brown, so I haven't tried white rice.
Second, I'm sure you could add the broccoli to the Instant Pot before starting the cooking. However, I think after 25 minutes, it would become mush. So I use this handy pot from Pampered Chef to steam mine in about 4 minutes in the microwave. I use frozen baby broccoli florets. I steam them the last 3 minutes of the cooking and after I release the steam, I add the broccoli. (Side note... that little steamer pot is a STAPLE in this house. I bought it on a whim and it is something I use at least 3-4 times a week.)

Hope you guys enjoy the recipe! Man, it's been a long since I posted a recipe, and I'm trying a new plug-in to add the recipe card here. Let me know what you think!

Yield: 6 ServingsAuthor: Liz @ Confessions of a Former Couch Potato

Chicken and Veggie Brown Rice Casserole for Instant Pot

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 25 MINStotal time: 35 mins

This super-easy casserole combines brown rice, veggies, chicken breasts, and cheddar cheese to create a meal that is both filling and healthy!

ingredients:

• 1 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 TBSP butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup of chopped carrots
• 2 2/3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups brown rice
• 2 large chicken breasts (fresh or frozen)
• a few splashes of Worcestershire Sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups broccoli florets, steamed
• handful (about 2/3 cup) of shredded cheddar cheese 

instructions:

1. Select the saute button on your Instant Pot.  When the pot is hot, add the oil and butter. Wait about 30 seconds for oil/butter to heat up.
2. Add diced onion to pot and cook for about 2 minutes.  
3. Add garlic and carrots and cook until garlic is fragrant.
4. Add chicken broth and stir to release any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. 
5. Add the rice and stir.  
6. Add the chicken breasts.
7. Add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire Sauce.
8. Press "Cancel" to end the saute feature.  Manually select the High Pressure button and set the timer for 25 minutes. Make sure to set the vent to "Sealing."
9. While the casserole is cooking, steam the rice in the microwave.
10. Once the time is up, Quick-Release the steam and then open the pot.  Stir to combine all the ingredients.  The chicken should fall apart easily, but you can use forks to shred.  
11. Add steamed broccoli and shredded cheese.  Stir once more to combine.
12. Enjoy!

Created using The Recipes Generator

-Liz

Gloriously Ordinary Night In and Christmas Decorations

Happy Monday to all of my blog-world friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  We returned from our Thanksgiving festivities on Saturday and have been busy cleaning, decorating for Christmas, and de-cluttering a little bit.

You know, tonight was a gloriously ordinary night in at the Confessions House.  I’ve been so busy this fall.  Don’t get me wrong—I love everything I am involved in—Girls on the Run, teaching Zumba classes, taking Zumba classes, Wedding festivities for my sister Adrienne (who is getting married in less than three weeks!!!) and countless other activities.  I would say this is the busiest season our family has had in a long time.  So tonight it was so nice to have time to actually cook dinner and eat it at the kitchen table.  That has not happened very often this fall. 

We had one of my favorite items tonight: chicken thighs.  I know, what a random favorite item, right?  Well, chicken thighs are a great dinner option for several reasons.  First, they are cheap.  A pack of 4 thigh pieces usually costs about $3.  (For more info on how to save money on groceries, see this post.)  Second, you cannot overcook them.  No matter how long you cook them, they’ll be tender and delicious.  Third, they are easy to prepare.  Here is how I made ours tonight:

I started by seasoning them (in the package).  Don’t worry—you can season the other side when you put them in the pan.  You can use any seasonings you like.  I usually use salt and pepper and tonight I added some garlic powder.

Heat an oven-safe skillet sprayed with cooking spray over med-high heat on the stove.  When the pan is hot, add the chicken, seasoned side down.  (Then as that side cooks, season the other side.)  Let it cook about 6-8 minutes before you flip it over.  The chicken should be golden brown. 

Cook another 6-8 minutes on that side.  Then cover and put into the oven to finish cooking.  (*NOTE* If you are cooking with boneless chicken thighs, you may not need to finish these in the oven.  Boneless and skinless thighs are smaller and will cook much more quickly.)

Typically you’ll only need to keep them in the oven about 15 minutes longer—which is the perfect amount of time to steam some peas and whip up some couscous!

Voila!  Dinner on the table in 30 minutes! 

So let’s talk about holiday decorations!  It’s a tradition in our house to decorate right after Thanksgiving so that we can enjoy it as long as possible.  As soon as we got home on Saturday, we got to work.  Here’s a little glimpse of our work so far.  We’ve still got the dining room and the outside of the house to work on, but the inside is looking pretty Christmasy!

Kitchen table… (this is my everyday holiday china… I use my Spode Christmas Tree china in the dining room and for entertaining.)

Mantle with stockings… (don’t jump to conclusions when you see the 4 stockings… one is for Baylee.)

Sadie’s favorite item… the Nativity set.  My mom adds a piece or two (or more) each year and Sadie LOVES playing with all the pieces.  Here you can see that she’s got all the animals watching over Baby Jesus.  (So.  Sweet.)

Tree…

(I just noticed the curtains are falling!  Oops!)

We don’t use a star or an angel on the top of ours—more decorative picks, branches, and swirly thingies!

Most of our ornaments have special meaning, so I love unpacking them and remembering them.

This was an ornament for my very first Christmas.

Here’s another one from my childhood. 

This one was from our first married Christmas!

Here’s Sadie’s first Christmas ornament!

I think it’s really neat to have so many ornaments that help to tell our family story! 

Have you started decorating?  What are some of your traditions?  Share them by leaving a comment below!

Are You Intimidated?

What intimidates you?  This is something that intimidates me.

Meet The Intimidator.  This is Carowinds’s newest ride.  It opened just last year and people… it was aptly named.  I am not scared of roller coasters.  I’ll do them all over and over.  But even though I rode this ride last year… it’s still completely… well… intimidating.  Yesterday we had our weekly Carowinds trip to meet some friends and their kids, and I decided it was time to get back on this ride. 

They say this is the tallest, longest, fastest roller coaster in the southeast, and I believe it.  This is the only roller coaster that truly makes my heart race.  As we were climbing the first big hill, there was a guy behind me who was giggling at the fact that I was holding on for dear life. 

“Hey, look over there,” he said, and pointed off to our left, where you could clearly see the skyline of uptown Charlotte. 

“Are you crazy?!!?” I asked.  “I can’t look out there!”

He laughed.  “I work at the front gate,” he said.  “And every day when I get off work, I have to ride this ride.  It’s the best.”

And then we took the plunge.  And there were about thirty seconds of sheer terror, exhilaration, and screams.

As we rounded the corner at the end, he said, “Never gets old.”

I think he’s probably right.

Here’s a video if you want to get a feel for The Intimidator.

 

This video is good… but it really doesn’t do it justice.

So, what intimidates you? 

Something that has always intimidated me is meat with bones in it.  I don’t know why… but it always has.  I only ever bought chicken when it was boneless and skinless.  I wasn’t really sure what to do with non-boneless chicken. 

Last year, I saw this episode of “Ten Dollar Dinners” with Melissa d’Arabian on The Food Network.  She was making using split chicken breasts and showed how easy they were to prepare.  So I tried it, and just like that… I mastered bone-in chicken.  Here’s what I do.

If you have never bought split chicken breasts, you’re in for a great surprise.  They’re sooooo inexpensive!  I have noticed that a pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts can cost $8.00 to even $10.00 for a package of 3.  Well, if you buy split chicken breasts, you get more meat for your money… and the pack of 3 that I bought this week cost me $3.00.  Now, that’s a bargain.

Select a skillet that is oven-safe.  You can start your chicken on the stove and then finish it up in the oven.  I use a Cuisinart Stainless-Steel Skillet.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

First, season both sides of the chicken.  I use salt and pepper always.  Then feel free to add other seasoning mixes.  Coat the skillet with a light mist of cooking spray and then heat until hot on the stove.  When the pan is hot, add the chicken, skin-side down.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the skin is golden and crispy.  Then, flip the chicken over and cook the other side for another 5-7 minutes. 

Place the lid on the skillet and pop it into the oven.  Allow it to cook for 30-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.  (And a secret… because you seared the meat… you’re probably not going to overcook it.  Taking that step at the beginning locks in the juices and the flavor!)

When the chicken is cooked, allow it to cool.  And then you can remove the bones and slice it up.  The bones will just slide right out, leaving you with lots of meat, and each breast will have enough meat to serve at least 2 people.  So for $3.00… you get enough meat for 6 people! 

I served ours with a little creamy broccoli-pasta side dish. 

Chicken sizzling in the skillet… pre-oven

Dinner is served. 

Don’t be intimidated by bone-in chicken.  Or roller coasters. 

So… what intimidates you?  Tell me about it.

A Weeknight Dinner...

Hi, all!  Today I have a special treat for you... my sister Meredith is going to write a guest post!  Meredith lives in Columbia, SC and writes a blog called The Family Jewell.  So after you read her post, be sure to head over and check out her blog!

I was so excited to be asked to “guest post” on my sister’s blog Confessions of a Former Couch Potato.  I’ve only been blogging since early November but she had faith in my ability to create something (hopefully) somewhat interesting, but if not, then fun.  Let me first preface this post by telling you I’m not a hot chef in the kitchen.  In fact (and to be honest) I think I cook about as much as my husband does, and well, he actually does cook a good bit, so that’s a good thing I hope.  Either way, I’m no Betty Crocker or Ina Garten, but I can hold my own on occasion and hope you’ll enjoy some photos and comments on tonight’s Weeknight Dinner.

Today was a normal day for me (although around the southeast this week it’s been a strange week full of snow, ice, cancelled school, and more cancelled school).  I went to work and then hit the gym for my usual Wednesday evening yoga class.  I have grown to love yoga the more and more that I go and believe it really does have some very positive benefits including strength and core building.  When I got home I knew I was going to have to make dinner because we didn’t need another night of being slack and unhealthy eating (the previous two nights were frozen lasagna and take out).  I read about the “Eat In Month” Challenge that The Chic Life puts on and was going to try my best to have us abide by that rule this month, however we haven’t quite succeeded, but are trying our best (on normal weeks) to eat in as much as possible…and with that, generally making healthy meals.

So on with the dinner…tonight I decided that since I hadn’t prepped ahead of time or marinated the chicken we bought the other day I would just use Publix brand Zesty Italian and bake the chicken in the oven…simple and pretty healthy. 

 

chicken marinating (and cooking) in Zesty Italian



I also had a bag of red potatoes so I decided to do a simple combo of chopped potatoes with EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic powder (a staple) and dried rosemary…delicious!

 

red potatoes with EVOO & seasonings

I knew we needed something green so I made green beans (something simple yet healthy) and as if that wasn’t enough, I decided to pull out our new “How to Cook Everything” cookbook that was a Christmas gift from friends and found one more side dish (Sautéed Apples).



I captured the butter for the sauteed apples before it melted (without the flash)

 

brown sugar and cinnamon for the sauteed apples



green beans & apples cooking side-by-side



possibly my favorite part of the meal (deliciously sweet)



Although I know you’re probably thinking by now this meal doesn’t seem very complicated or original, but it wasn’t meant to be.  It’s merely to show that by having a few basic items in your house during the week (fresh and/or frozen) you can still pull together a tasty and healthy meal…and best of all, have leftovers!!



no caption needed   :)



So after all the prep work was done and each item cooked to al dente, I was actually surprised with myself that all came out at the exact same time and piping hot.  I’m not sure these pictures really give it justice, but hearing my husband compliment me in saying “I’m really proud of you, this is a really good meal” was music to my ears…and voila!  Dinner is served…



dinner is served...



Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything"



And to end on a sweet note since I didn’t include dessert tonight, I thought I’d share a photo of my little kitchen helper…or little beggar, if you will.



Zoe

Happy Cooking!

xo, Meredith (The Family Jewell)

Cooking Up a Storm: Sausage Scramble, Pan-seared Chicken, and MORE!

Today, I think I spent the entire day in the kitchen.  I didn't plan it that way, but that's what happened!

I started with breakfast.  Had to make some eggs because I didn't eat any eggs yesterday!  I made a "Sausage" and Cheese Scramble.  I put sausage in quotation marks because it is Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Sausage Patties.  I LOVE the maple syrup flavor.  With products like that, I could really be a vegetarian.  I used 1 oz. light colby cheese, 1 egg, 1 egg white, and a thawed "sausage" patty all chopped up.  It was soooooo tasty!  The patty gave it a little sweetness, and the cheese made it creamy.

We went to church, and on the way home, Ryan and I talked about making dinners for some of our friends who have been sick and have had babies yesterday.  So I whipped up two Baked Spaghetti with Chicken Sausage Casseroles.  It was hard not to take a bite as I was making them!  But I did make lots of Angel Hair pasta so I could finish up my semi-homemade sauce from Thursday this week, too.  Now I have some lunches ready to go!

Then I cooked and cut chicken breasts.  I chopped some raw chicken chunks for a recipe later this week.  I had to have somecooked chopped chicken to go in some Tortilla soup I am making for coworkers tomorrow, and I also made some pan-seared chicken for Ryan to make wraps for lunch this week.  (He may or may not be addicted to wraps after "Wraps Week.")  I'll tell you what-- this is the best way to prepare chicken breasts, in my opinion.  They will be so tasty, moist, and delicious.  Your family will ask for them all the time.

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a skillet with nonstick spray.  (I coat it pretty well.)  Heat to medium-high.  Then, salt and pepper the chicken breasts on both sides.  You can add other seasonings, if you want, but you don't need them.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken.  Let it cook until golden brown on that side-- about 5-8 minutes.  Then tuen over.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Then cover the skillet and place the entire skillet into the hot oven.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through.  Let stand 3-5 minutes before slicing.  (This keeps the juices inside!)  TIP: when you pull the pan out of the pot, keep the potholder on the handle.  This will prevent you from forgetting it it HOT and burning yourself.

Another tip: if you do burn yourself (as I did today) pour yellow mustard all over the burn and let it sit a few minutes.  Then rinse with cold water.  Don't know why this works, but it's like a magic eraser for burns!

Then I maked some corn muffins to go with the Chicken tortilla soup.  I hope I can remember everything I need to take with me!  I am trying something new-- another "Sorta-Homemade" recipe.  I know that's risky, but we'll see what happens.

Oh, and we had a quick, fun visit from Meredith and David today!  They were shopping in Charlotte and were able to stop by on their way home.  That was a nice surprise.

So now... I am getting tired of my kitchen.  I just sat down to a bowl of angel hair pasta with my semi homemade sauce and a simple salad.  (And a beverage.) 

I am dubbing this week "Try Something New Week."  I've decided I am going to try 5 things that I have never tasted before this week.  Just for fun. 

So tonight, I am going to make a batch of Pistachio pudding to snack on tonight-- because I found a random box of it in the pantry today and I have never tasted Pistachio pudding.  Green pudding... strange stuff.  But I am going to try it!  That's my "Try Something New" for today.

Tomorrow, I have another Giada recipe using another ingredient I have never used!  Can you guess what it is???  It's green and it is found in the produce section.....

Oh, and my little Sadiecasso (get it?  Sadie + Picasso?) painted me a BEAUTIFUL painting today.  What a sweetie...

Thanks for reading!  See you soon!