Tasty Thursdays – Gluten Free Magnificent Chicken in a Bowl- A One Dish Meal!

Background:
One of the winners of a special offer that we did, asked me if I could do some gluten free recipes. And here is one that is really very good, easy and a one dish meal. It also happens to be fairly low calorie as well as inexpensive. AND you can easily cook this with kids too – just let them hold your hand while you cut and chop, and add everything to the pan or the pot. Also they can learn how to season and place the raw chicken on the baking pan. Remember the house rules – EVERYONE washes their hands, no one licks their fingers and washing of hands takes place before touching a different food group. That means – wash before touching the chicken, and then after touching it too!

Chicken Rice in a Bowl for four

Ingredients:

Be sure to look on the labels of all ingredients to make sure that they are gluten free – they should be – but just in case…..
4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless ( Organic)

1.5 cups of brown rice

2 Tbsp of Olive oil

2 cups of fresh mushrooms chopped and stemmed

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 yellow onion chopped

1 cup of chopped baby carrots

1/2 cup of chopped celery

1/4 cups of black oil base olives pitted and chopped

1/4 cup of golden raisins

2 cups of chicken stock ( I use ‘Better than Bouillon’ and make up the concentrate with water)

1 Tbsp of Paprika

Salt and Freshly Cracked Ground Pepper to taste ( remember to use VERY little salt – the stock has salt in it already)

Parmesan which you grate fresh as a garnish ( the ready grated parmesan sometimes has modified food starch in it) ( optional)

Lemon quarters or cilantro or Italian Parsley (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Season the chicken breasts with paprika,  salt and pepper and spray with Pam Spray.
3. Place the breasts on a baking pan which you have also sprayed with Pam ( for easy cleaning) and place in the oven for about 20 minutes.
4. Heat up one tablespoon of the oil in a pot that is big enough to hold four cups of liquid, until medium hot.
5. Add the chopped garlic and saute for a few minutes. Remove and put aside.
6. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent.
7. Add the chopped mushrooms to the onions and saute until they reduce, then remove and add to the garlic on a side plate.
8. Add another tablespoon of olive oil  to the pot and let it heat, then add the celery, carrots, and saute until al dente ( not too soft and not too hard).
9. Add the rice and fry gently for a few minutes.
10. Add the golden raisins and then add back ALL the side plate contents ( the garlic, mushrooms and onions) and mix it with the carrots and celery, raisins and rice,  then immediately add the chicken stock.
11. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cook until the rice is soft to your taste – if you need to add a bit more chicken stock if the rice is not cooked enough for you – you can do that – but be sure that it is VERY hot stock.
12. In the meantime check the chicken. It should be moist, not pink inside – and cooked through. Do NOT over cook.  Depending on the thickness of the breasts you may need to cook it less than the 20 minutes. Keep a close eye on it to be sure it is not overcooking.
13. Take the chicken out of the oven and slice it into bite sized pieces. Cover tightly with foil so it doesn’t get dry.
14. When the rice mixture is ready, add the sliced cut chicken into the mixture and GENTLY toss to combine – be sure to add all those lovely juices that collected on the plate when you cut the chicken too!
15. Serve in soup bowls – kids love that – or on a flat plate and garnish with sprigs of parsley or cilantro. I love to serve lemon quarters – a squeeze of lemon brings out the flavor.
16. An alternate garnish is to grate Parmesan over the top of each serving – lots of it! It adds a yummy creamy flavor without too many calories (only 30 cals an ounce for Parmesan which is a nice serving)

Don’t you just love one dish meals? Of course you could serve this with steamed asparagus, or fresh peas ( or the fresh frozen kind) which you could heat/cook in the microwave or even with a salad. Or just by itself!
Enjoy!

This recipe has been proudly featured on the Gluten Free Panty’s blog