Skillet meals are great for people who are pressed for time or those who don’t care to put a lot of time into a meal. I’m retired, so the former isn’t an issue, but a lot of times its just nice to put an entree together in a short amount of time.
The following recipe fits the latter category. I substituted pheasant breasts for the chicken and used some carrots from my garden that were washed, bagged and stored in the vegetable crisper in my refrigerator. I then sliced them and steamed them for about 10 minutes before they were added to the skillet with frozen peas.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet
1 yellow onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (can substitute 4 pheasant breasts)
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup long grain white rice
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried sage
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly cracked pepper
3 cups chicken brothn or more if needed
½ pound frozen peas and carrots
⅓ cup heavy cream
4 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded
Dice the onion and slice the mushrooms and add them to an oven-safe deep skillet along with the butter. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
While the vegetables are cooking, dice the chicken breast into small, ½-inch pieces. Add the chicken to the skillet and continue to sauté for about 3 minutes or until the outside of the chicken pieces turn opaque. (The chicken will finish cooking as it simmers with the rice).
Add the rice, thyme, sage, salt, some freshly cracked pepper and the chicken broth to the skillet and stir to combine.
Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth to come to a boil. Once it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let the skillet simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, replacing the lid each time. Cooking the rice in an excess of broth and stirring occasionally as it cooks will produce a saucy rice mixture.
After 15 minutes, the rice should be tender and saucy (if not yet tender, let it continue to cook for 5 minutes). Stir in the frozen vegetables (no need to thaw), replace the lid, and let it sit over medium-low heat for 5 minutes to heat the vegetables through. Add the heavy cream, stir to combine, taste and add extra salt if needed.
Turn on the oven’s broiler, top the skillet with the shredded cheese, and place the skillet in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve hot.