Chicken and Rice???

[jpshaw]

I am attempting to duplicate my dads chicken and rice. Problem is he never followed a recipe, never used measuring cups or spoons and certainly didn't write anything down. All I know is that it started with a whole chicken and included onion, celery and the rice was included in it and not served over it. He was very fond of sage so that is going into it but the rest is guess work. Any help would be appreciated but I can tell you it didn't include any tomato product. I will be using a slow cooker (Crock Pot) since it's a Rival so I can add anything missing for several hours after starting.

So far it's going to be 1 tsp poultry seasoning, 1/2 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 1/2 cups of celery, one chopped onion, the chicken, of course, plus salt (a sub in my case), 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper, 1 1/2 cups of rice and more then 3 cups water since his was a just soupy enough to pour but firm enough to eat with a fork. I will also add some fresh green beans to make it a meal. Suggestions appreciated.

 

[Mama Mangia]

You can always add water chestnuts, pimientos or even carrots for a bit of sweetness.

 

[jpshaw]

Had some water chestnuts for a Moo Goo Ghi pan. I had thought of carrots but am out. However, the pimientos sound good and will add some color so they just went in. Thanks for the input Mama.

 

[Dilbert]

>>never followed a recipe, never used measuring cups or spoons and certainly didn't write anything down.

guilty as charged, your Honor . . .

threaten the pot with 2-3 crushed garlic cloves - I'm not fond of 'gosh it's garlic' but I do like a hint of it.

basically methink's you got the classical basis - fresh chopped parsley at the end is a nice touch - same for chopped chives.

leeks are a nice sub for the onion.

and red / yellow bell pepper vs. green is another interesting twist - the flavor is a subtle difference. for a bit a 'heat' to the dish - banana peppers.

not everything at the same time,,, understand - the free form school of cooking has a superior advantage is that it's always good but never exactly the same. . . .

 

[jpshaw]

Well I learned something about this recipe. The 1 1/2 cups rice is a bit too much for 3 1/2 cups water and all the other stuff I put in there. I also remember CanMans post about the Rival being too hot. It was the first time I've used it and I do believe he is right. I waited 3 hours to put the rice in and it was kinda pasty at the end of 4 1/2 hours. I did not need to fish out pieces of chicken and debone but just fish out bones. The chicken skin was not to be found which means this is a very rich mess. The taste was actually spot on as I remember it but the celery, bell pepper and pimiento just dissappeared into the mass of rice "pudding". This was running this thing on low for 7 1/2 hours and you could see a bubbling in the crock. Next time the rice will be 1 cup and I will put it in with 2 hours remaining along with the veggies. I am dissappointed in that I was looking for a 1 pot dinner I could start in the morning and just come home in the evening to a good meal. Other recipes with rice called for putting it in at the beginning so I thought I could do it with this one.

My next try with this thing will be Red Beans and Rice (without the sausage to lower the sodium). This time the rice will be cooked separatly with the beans served over it. I plan to put browned ground beef directly into it to avoid the sausage since I do want some meat in it.

 

[Mama Mangia]

ok - one thing I won't do is cook rice or noodles in the crockpot - they mush -
try dooking rice or noodles separately and then adding to the crockpot - heat through for no more than 20 to 30 minutes - no mush

 

[jpshaw]

I can see that now but there were so many recipes calling for the rice at the beginning before cooking on low for 8 hours. I had some doubts so I waited 3 hours before adding it and then held total cooking time to 7 1/2 hours.

 

[chubbyalaskagriz]

Your Dad's dish sounds wonderful, JP...

I had a friend whose 84 year old Mom used to make something similar using just gizzards. It all simmered together in a rich broth and the gizzards became so tender- it was delicious, too!

For future reference... and I'm not crazy about recommending store-bought stuff over delcious homemade food, but... At oil camps up north we often had frozen convenience foods on hand in case we ended up having to feed many that we had not planned on. In addition to pre-cooked batter-fried chicken, Stouffer's lasagne, canned spaghetti sauce, frozen pre-cooked meatballs, and a few other items that we could throw together quickly, in a heart-beat, there was also a very delicious Stouffer's frozen product called "Grandma's Chicken & Rice Bake" (loaded w/ mixed vegetables) and it was so popular, when we did do it in a pinch, many of the guys would request it for weeks after...

Grandma's Chicken & Vegetable Rice Bake - Products - STOUFFERS

 

[jpshaw]

Thanks for the tip Kevin but I just viewed the Nutritional Facts on that Chicken and Rice bake and at 880 mg of sodium per serving I will have to pass with this sorry excuse for a heart I have.

My answer will be to cook it the way he did, on top of the stove.

 

[sweetsyl66]

chicken and rice

try adding red pepper with the bell pepper

 

[jimgreen]

Well I learned something about it. thanks