Week Eight: Chicken with Lemon Rice and Artichokes

I am neck deep in preparing for my high school's spring musical. Rehearsals are fun, but they keep me at work at least two hours after the last bell, which cuts into my dinner-making time. I've been looking for recipes that are easy to make, but still relatively healthy and delicious. I kept coming across these chicken and rice skillet recipes. After reading through a few, I was inspired to try coming up with my own. The end result? Easy and tasty!

Chicken with Lemon Rice and Artichokes

Fresh Ingredients:

2 medium to large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut up into one inch pieces

1 lemon, juiced

A handful of fresh parsley, chopped

A dash of Half and Half

Pantry Items:

1 cup rice

2 cups good chicken broth/stock

1 tablespoon Morton's Nature's Seasoning*

12 oz. jar of marinated artichoke hearts (quartered)

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

1.) Add a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil to the bottom of a heavy bottomed skillet. Season the chicken cubes with salt and brown on each side. You do not need to cook the chicken all the way through. Remove the chicken from the pan.

2.) Add the rice to the leftover olive oil and toast. While the rice is toasting, add the Morton's season blend to the chicken stock and mix. Once the rice has toasted, add the stock. Be sure to scrape the brown bits off the bottom and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add the chicken (and any escaped juices) back to the rice. Cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. (This took a little more than 15 minutes for me.)

3.) Once the rice is cooked through, add the artichokes and lemon juice. Simmer for a few more minutes until some of the acid has cooked out of the lemon and the artichokes have heated through. Turn off the heat and add a dash of half and half and a small handful of parsley. (Note: you can skip the cream at the end, but I like the little extra bit of richness it adds.) Garnish with just a little more parsley on top.

Eat Up!

* Morton's Nature's Seasoning is a blend I accidentally bought, but I have come to really like. It's a blend of salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and celery seed. If you don't have it, just add a little bit of each of these, or just the ones you like!