One pot creamy chicken and rice

I know I'm not the only one, but cooking at home with chicken is not my favorite activity. I think it often tastes funny and isn't a good food to be reheated. I worry about over or under cooking it and I often find it less flavorful compared to other proteins.

The one exception to this rule, other than breaded chicken of course, is when I made matzo ball soup (inspired by my mom). The chicken cooks for a few hours in chicken stock and comes out perfectly juicy and shredded. When reheated, there is no funky taste - it maintains it's incredible flavor and juiciness! I realized that the key must be cooking the chicken directly in the stock and that was the inspiration for this dish.

Though this does take about three hours to cook, it's very low maintenance and mostly just requires some patience. The only step outside of the pot is removing the chicken breast and shredding it, but no fancy tools are required and the result is a hearty and filling dish that's great for lunch or dinner and pairs really well with a roasted vegetable.

I love a creamy anything dish, but the great thing about this is that there isn't a lot of cream. Only two tablespoons in the full batch. Since the quantity is low, you could also swap in milk, or a cream alternative. The thickness of this dish comes from cooking the rice in the broth, adding in the cream, and from the butter as well. When I'm cooking (vs. baking) I swap in Earth Balance, but you can use real butter or any butter alternative you have on hand.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups chicken stock

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (I used jarred minced garlic)

• 1 pound uncooked chicken breast (or two big pieces)

• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

• Salt or garlic salt and black pepper to taste

• 1 cup dry brown rice

• 4 tablespoons butter (I used a butter alternative)

• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Cooking time: About 3 hours total.

Cooking instructions:

In a large pot, add 7 cups of your chicken stock, and all of your minced garlic and juiced lemon over high heat. Place your raw chicken into the pot and ensure it's covered by the stock mixture. Add in at least 1/4 teaspoon of salt or garlic salt.

Once your stock comes to a boil, reduce the heat bringing it to a low simmer and cover. Cook for one hour at a low simmer.

After an hour, remove your chicken from the stock and shred (I usually use a big fork and tongs, it should shred easily). The chicken will break down more as it continues to cook, so don't over shred the chicken.

Place the shredded chicken back into the stock, add additional salt, and recover your pot to simmer your chicken for another 30-40 minutes.

Add in your dry brown rice and lightly stir the pot. Re-cover your pot, and leave on a high simmer for 40 minutes. Remove the cover, and assess the mixture.

• If there is a lot of liquid, re-cover and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes partially covered.

• If the rice is undercooked, and there is still an excess of liquid, continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes partially covered.

• If the rice is undercooked and/or the mixture looks dry, add in 1/2 or the full remaining cup of stock and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes partially covered.

Once your rice is cooked and the liquid is reduced enough, stir in your heavy cream and butter. Place your cover back onto the pot and remove it from the heat. Leave for 10 minutes to set. Add any additional salt needed, and sprinkle in black pepper to taste.

You can serve immediately or allow to cool and store in the fridge for about five days.

Carb and serving info:

Servings: 4 to 6

Carbs per serving (1/6): 22.7

Carbs per serving (1/4): 34.1

Carbs per full batch: 136.5

Carb info in case you pick a different type of rice:

Cabs per full batch without rice: 4.5

Carbs per full batch rice only: 132

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.