Recipe #14 - Chicken and Brown Rice Pilaf

My mom gets a Kraft Foods magazine every so often. I used to get it, but it randomly stopped. Oh well. It always has a lot of good looking recipes, and I'll honestly admit I've tried quite a few!! So far, I tried 2 from the recent magazine she let me borrow. The first one, yuck! This second one, yummy!! Here is the link to Kraft's website with the original recipe. I'm only going to show my modified recipe below!

Ingredients:
*3-4 slices of bacon, chopped
*4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
*1 bag of frozen broccoli
*water
*2 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese
*2 cups hot cooked long-grain brown rice

Prepare the rice according to the directions on the package. I haven't mastered making brown rice yet... it always seems dry. I'm working on it though. In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon, until crisp (about 6-7 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, scoop the bacon pieces out of the skillet, leaving the grease. Lay the bacon pieces on a paper towel covered plate, to drain excess grease.

Before adding chicken to the skillet, make sure it's cut into small sections, or somewhat flattened, to allow it to cook a little faster. My chicken pieces were too plump, resulting in very crispy outsides. Add the chicken to the skillet, cooking about 6-8 minutes on each side, until its golden brown and cooked all the way through. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm. Add broccoli to skillet, along with a small amount of water (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet). Cover. Cook until broccoli is tender. Add rice and bacon to skillet with broccoli. Mix well. Top rice mixture with bacon pieces and chicken, and ta da!



So the original recipe only uses two strips of bacon, but OH MY the bacon was my favorite part. That's why I increased it to 3-4 slices here. I'll be trying it that way next time. I don't know what about it made the rest of it WONDERFUL! We prefer broccoli, so that is why I used it, rather than the other veggies. Plus, it's what I had on hand. I will try it with snap peas, once, though.

This was a very yummy and relatively easy meal! I'll definitely make it again.

TTFN!