THIS WAS DOOMED FROM THE START. Prominently featuring rice, as seen in the current What Doesn’t Work Now list, it never stood a chance. But be that as it may, I’m a glutton for punishment committed to presenting a variety of food, including things they don’t like. Or think they don’t like. (Ironic that “Green Eggs and Ham” is one of Phoebe’s favorite books now?) As usual, we don’t have a Clean Your Plate Rule. But the idea is to try everything. One bite of rice, some chicken, a little broccoli (which is a favorite these days so I thought it had a chance. It didn’t.) Yogurt is our fallback option when all else fails, and yes there is a fallback option. Neither militant nor interested in getting up at 5am with a ravenous toddler, this is the one alternate we offer.
At any rate, I found a version of this recipe on the Whole Foods website. I liked that it was a stove-top recipe, only requiring one pan. (And I’m sure that Paul, who is the Chief Bottle Washer, liked this feature too.) It was also easy to reheat for lunches later in the week. And I loved the water sautee suggestion instead of oil (which I do often).
Plus, since I work from home now, lunch time no longer means hovering over my desk in my glass-walled office at MSLO with one hand on the mouse and the other shoveling in salad. Now I hover over my desk in my home office, with one hand on the mouse and the other shoveling in leftovers. So they need to be good. And when yogurt prevails, that means another lunch for me. This arrangement worked out just fine this time.
STOVE TOP CHICKEN & RICE WITH BROCCOLI
Adapted from Whole Foods.com
ingredients
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade)
- 1 medium yellow onion, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 (8-ounce) skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size cubes (about 1/2 inch and smaller for little ones)
- 1 cup brown rice
- 3 cups small broccoli florets
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- Salt & pepper to taste
instructions
Using a Dutch oven or large skillet, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add grated onion and garlic and cook about 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken, rice and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes. Add carrots and cook about 5 minutes. Add broccoli and continue to cook about 10 minutes or until everything is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Remove pot from heat and let sit 5 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork. Stir in thyme, salt & pepper and serve.
MORE DINNER IDEAS TO TRY:
- Mini Meatloaves (a Barefoot Contessa Makeover)
- Toddler-Friendly Asian Noodles and Veggies
- Spaghetti & Sausage Two Ways
- Cauliflower Your Kids Will Really Eat Plus Easy Roast Chicken
Just found this site. The chick, broc, and rice is a staple for my son. As it is basicly the only green he will eat. We have been using the store bought stean in a bag kind. Seeing as the parents are trying to eat better and watch calories, is it possible to get calories and serving sizes for the dishes as prepared or is it a count and add up yourself type thing? Thanks for this idea as fresh seems to sound better!
I recently made a similar dish, except it had an added step of sprinkling on some cheese and sticking it under the broiler. My 6 year old, who hates everything green except peas (preferably from a can), actually liked it. It took a while to convince him to try it (he will walk away without eating dinner at times), but he said he could hardly taste the broccoli.