Easy Dinner – Yes, Please!
Posted by terrepruitt on September 8, 2011
After I taught my Nia Class in Willow Glen I had some shopping to do. After shopping I rushed home because I was going to meet a friend in the afternoon back the way of my class, but I thought would shower so as not to offend her. It was pretty warm here. As is normal for a hot day, the late afternoon early evening is the hottest. So as I was driving home from my visit I was not looking forward to cooking dinner. I had chicken thawed in the fridge, but what else to cook? I ended up visiting longer than I had planned and getting stuck in traffic on the way home so I didn’t want to stop to get anything to add to dinner because it was already late. All the way home I was wondering what to cook. When I got home it was really hot. I thought it would be best not to turn on the oven or the stove. I had an idea that maybe using my electric skillet would be cooler. I do believe it was. Although this is a common dish cooked in a crock pot or the oven. When you have limited ingredients sometimes dinner is really easy. I have found that with limited ingredients I come up with come pretty good meals. Some end up being regularly cooked meals.
Ingredients:
-A little over a cup of rice
-32 oz broth
-1/2 cup of sherry
-1 tablespoon of worchestire sauce
-1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
-1 tablespoon marjoram
-1/2 tablespoon powdered garlic
-two large chicken breast (skinless, boneless)
-bag of green beans
-salt and pepper to taste**
I put the rice in the skillet with about half of the broth and turn the skillet on to its highest setting. I started to cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. When most of the broth boiled off, I added the rest of the broth, the sherry, the worchestire sauce, the soy sauce and stirred, then I added the marjoram. I turned the heat down to the lowest setting. I finished cutting up the chicken, then put it in with the rice I sprinkled the garlic on the chicken with some salt. I turned it to the middle setting. I let the chicken cook until it was almost done, then I added the green beans. I stirred them into the dish and let it cook until they were done.
If you know me, you know I don’t like pepper — at all. But my friend gave me some smoked pepper, which seems very different than regular black pepper. It helped finish the dish off perfectly! I brought the grinder to the table though so we could pepper our food separately. My husband loves pepper.
I wasn’t planning on posting about this so I wasn’t keeping track of the time, but I think it all took about 30 to 40 minutes. That is what I will plan on in the future, but I will keep an eye on it to see. I am looking forward to using different veggies. Frozen green beans is all that I had.
The last time I cooked an all in one dish I used the oven and I used brown rice and canned soup. The rice was a bit crunchy still but I didn’t want to cook it longer because the chicken was done. So that is why with this one I started the rice first, although this time I used white rice and it could have been less done.
I am working my way away from using canned soup so that is why I used broth and it came out great. With the oven cooked dish I used broccoli. I am looking forward to trying different veggies in the skillet.
I had forgotten about the electric skillet even though my parents use theirs all the time. I am glad it was hot and I was at a loss of how to cook dinner because now I am going to start using my electric skillet more often.
Do you have an electric skillet? If you do, what do you cook in it? Do you have any favorite one pot recipes?
**09/10/11 — This actually made quite so we ate it a second night. On the third night it seemed as if all that was left was rice and green beans so I sauteed some baby bok choy and a can of chicken then put the left over rice and green beans in the pan and heated it up. Wow! I think I am a fan of baby bok choy!!!
09/12/11 — I didn’t take a picture while I was cooking it because I didn’t think of posting about it. So the next night when we were having it for dinner I decided to at least take a picture of the food and the electric skillet, even though the food is on my dinner plate. 🙂
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Angelia Sims said
Sounds VERY good! My mom cooked almost exclusively with an electric skillet. You know I am not a cook, but this made me think, it might be VERY easy to do this same dish in the rice cooker. I love the addition of worchestire sauce. Mmmm!
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terrepruitt said
I put worchestire sauce in pretty much all dishes with meat. It upsets me it has HFCS in it, because I use it so often. I have not yet been able to get my hubby to stop buying it. But anyway . . . . rice cookers, at least ours, has a ateamer so I understand you can do veggies in them but I didn’t think you could do meat. Would it just turn off when all the water was boiled off as usual?
You can do this in the oven or a crockpot. I was just excited because normally I see the recipes use the oven or crock pot and I had never thought of using the electric skillet. If you use the rice cooker let me know how it comes out!
(I took the liberty of adding the “mom” to your first comment)
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Becky said
I think my kids would actually eat this — yay!
I don’t have an electric skillet — maybe I do. I’ll check. I know my grandmother cooked with an electric skillet all the time and I might actually have that skillet as I have most of her things!
Yay! A project — find the skillet!!!
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terrepruitt said
You don’t need an electric skillet. This is dish is normally cooked in the oven. I did that once and it worked great. I was just happy because I think that the electric skillet is less heat. I used it last night for something else because it is also a great size.
I really liked the baby bok choy addition. I am happy to find out that I like baby bok choy. I am looking forward to using it tonight. And thanks for commenting because even though I used my skillet last night and I am excited about using it, I hadn’t thought to use it for tonight’s dinner, but now you reminded me.
Come back and update us on the location (or not) of the skillet. 🙂
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Michele said
MMMM….hey I need an easy dinner tonight – I am going to try it, using broccoli instead of green beans, it’s what I have and I will use my poor lonely under used electric skillet too! Crossing fingers that the kids will like it too…
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terrepruitt said
Yeah, I used broccoli when I did it in the oven. But when I did it in the oven I also used at least one can, maybe two, I can’t remember of soup.
I really liked the addition of the baby bok choy. Plus since I was sauteeing the bok choy, I just put the additional chicken in the pan, then the leftovers . . . . make it possible to avoid the microwave.
I have some recipe magazines the I went through and took a lot of recipes out of, but there are still a lot left and I swore I would remember them yesterday to bring to you and since I was running late (grrr!) I forgot them. It won’t be long before you are experimenting again and I am sure there is stuff in these you can find to do. Maybe by the next time I see you I will have more.
Let us know about the your skillet dinner and if your beautiful angels like it.
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Michele said
Ok, dinner is done. Dave and I really enjoyed it…T said he liked it but
“it was not terrific”, and M said “I hate it!” But she ate it all anyway because there may have been some ice cream dessert on the line 🙂
I would love your recipe mags, I love making new things, thanks for the easy dinner recipe – I will be making this one again. I especially love it because it is so easy to change up! The bok choy addition sounds delicious!
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terrepruitt said
WHOA! Look at you making time to update us! FABULOUS. Thank you! I think this is a great type of “stretch it” meal. It can stretch the meat, veggies, and rice to make a meal and then some. I am glad Dave liked it. T is a trooper. Did you ask him what it would take to make it terrific? Maybe that could be one of the ways of “changing it up”? If he says add corn chips or gummy bears (eww) but as a change to make it a terrific dinner for him, why not, right? And M, well, I am kinda feeling her. You’ve described her as not a big meat eater so I can see why it might not be so great to her.
In your comment when you said you were going to use broccoli, I keep thinking any veggie would work. What about artichoke hearts? Might that make it more appealing to M? 🙂
As I mentioned on FB, I was so excited about what I made tonight. It was ground turkey and baby bok choy. I didn’t want to “drown” the flavor of the bok choy with my normal garlic and onions. I did use onions (but not garlic), but I also used the rice vinegar that I just bought for the soup recipe. So thank you for that!
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Michele said
You are becoming quite the foodie! I will ask T how he could like it better, that’s a great idea. I just discovered mixing ground turkey with a variety of veggies to make a great and more healthy “hamburger helper” meal (without the hamburger helper box!) We have been doing ground turkey, carrots, onions and potatoes with a red curry simmer sauce from Trader Joes – Yummy! I am going to have to try Baby Bok Choy and rice vinegar – thanks to you!!!
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terrepruitt said
Ground turkey and veggies is my staple. Sometimes I do a “sauce”, sometimes not. I usually do mushrooms OR broccoli. Usually I just cook that and don’t really have a sauce. If I have cream cheese sometimes I’ll put in a spoonful or two. Last night I had ricotta so I used that. I am really loving the Baby Bok Choy.
Let us know what T says, I am curious to see if it can be made terrific for him.
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Michele said
Ok, I’ll stop here – T says carrots instead of broccoli and more salt and pepper! Yay, I can do that.
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terrepruitt said
No! Don’t stop. I am so happy to have a conversation on my blog. And I am happy that it is with you. When I started my blog 2.5 years ago you had been reading a few blogs but never commenting and you stepped out of that shell to help me out and look at you!!!!!
Well, T and I don’t agree. I don’t like cooked carrots. And I think the broccoli is perfect with the turkey. But I am happy he gave you an idea on how to make it terrific for him! Awesome!
I am wondering if the Beauties would like the Baby Bok Choy? You’ll have to see. When I am cutting it up I separate the bottom from the top. I cook the bottom first, then the turkey, then I throw in the top. I don’t like soggy greens so I just let the top/green part get wilty.
Do they like green beans? What about peas?
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suzicate said
I love my electric skillet! Youre recipe sounds yummy. Don’t you just love it when you experiment in the kitchen and it turns out delightfully?
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terrepruitt said
Yes, I DO love when I just play and it turns out yummy. But the last time I did it, I was just throwing stuff in and not paying attention and now I am upset because it was REALLY good and I am certain I can’t do it again! 😦
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