Broccoli is the star of this dish, with the backup dancers of chicken, cheese and rice.
This recipe is cooked in one pan, making your cooking and cleaning faster and easier. Colorado Proud is serving up a yummy one-pan recipe that brings together ease, cheese and local ingredients.
Now that farmers markets are in full swing, it’s easy to find this season’s produce superhero.
Broccoli has been cultivated for 2,000 years and is a member of the cabbage family. Broccoli is a cool-season vegetable crop that can yield incredible amounts over an extended period of time if properly grown and harvested.
Like most fresh produce from the Brassicaceae family, broccoli florets are rich in vitamin C, and a good source of vitamin A, B6 and folate. Broccoli is also an excellent source of fiber and provides calcium and iron.
Summers are busy, so we invite you to try this one-pan recipe that brings together local ingredients in a well-rounded meal for you and your loved ones. You can make adjustments to this recipe based on your diet, but it is naturally gluten-free and can be made vegan and vegetarian through easy substitutions. You can also appease your picky children by adding as much cheese as you want.
This is a great time of year to try to make all parts of your meals as local as possible.
Chicken and Broccoli with Rice
Yield: 5-6 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced finely
1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup uncooked extra long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces (fresh or frozen)
2 cups shredded colby jack and cheddar cheese mix (or any cheese of your choice)
Directions:
In a large oven-safe skillet or oven-safe pan, sauté onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, dice the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
Once onions soften, increase the heat to medium high, move the onions to the side and add chicken to the pan and let cook until one side is well-browned.
Skipping meat? Skip chicken in this step or use a meat substitute, cooked according to directions and added at the end with the cheese.
Mix the chicken pieces with the onion and continue sauteeing until cooked through.
Add garlic and cook for about 1 more minute.
Push chicken and onions to one side of the pan and add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to the other side.
Add the uncooked rice in the olive oil and saute it for a minute or two, stirring often.
Add the vegetable broth to the pan, stir well and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a low simmer and cover the pan with a lid.
Cook chicken and rice mixture for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the broccoli evenly over the chicken and rice mixture and continue to cook covered another 8 minutes on low, or until broccoli and rice are both tender.
Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese (or to taste). Meanwhile, set the oven to high broil.
Skipping dairy? You can use a vegan cheese or no cheese at all.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and then broil it for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
This recipe is provided by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
CPR and first aid classes
CPR and first aid certification classes are offered every other month at the CSU Extension office, generally on the second Monday and Wednesday from 6 to 10 p.m. The cost for the classes is $80 for combined CPR/first aid and $55 for CPR, first aid or recertification. Call the Extension office at (970) 246-5931 to register.
Check out the online option on our website, https://archuleta.extension.colostate.edu/.
