Creamy Chicken and Rice Stew

This stew was a nice, easy meal to throw together in the crockpot, and also works great when you're cooking for a crowd (which is why I made it this week!)

Because I was cooking this for a big group, I actually added a little more rice than normal, which shows in the pic above. 

If you're wanting to create the feeling of a cold winter's night in America, then cook up some of this stew and pour yourself  big bowl, and pretend it's actually cold outside ;)

The original recipe came from Pinterest, but the Pin doesn't actually lead to a page, it was just a screenshot of the whole recipe. It also called to just throw the rice in to cook all day in the broth, but the time I tried doing that it just turned into rice mush instead of soup (still with great flavor!) So I prefer cooking the rice separately and just adding it in at the end. 

Creamy Chicken and Rice Stew

2 chicken breasts

6 cups of chicken broth (I just add 6 cups of water and 6 chicken cubes right into the crock pot)

2 stalks of celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup dry basmati or other long grain rice

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1 generous cup of frozen corn

Add all ingredients except the rice, flour, milk and corn to the crock pot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-6. About 45 minutes before serving, cook your rice according to package directions. 30 minutes before serving, take out the chicken and shred it. In a container with a tight lid, shake the flour and milk together. Stir the chicken, milk/flour mixture, frozen corn, and cooked rice into the crock pot and cook for about 30 minutes more to let the stew thicken. Serves 4-6 people. 

Fruit Smoothie

The past couple of months, I've been on a huge smoothie kick.

For awhile I was making a peanut butter smoothie practically everyday.

But now the past few weeks I've been on a purely fruit smoothie run, mostly because it's a way to make me actually eat fruit.

I know it sounds weird in a country full of markets just brimming with fresh produce, but I've really struggled to eat enough fruit here. It mostly comes down to the fact that I'm just picky.

I don't love a lot of the fruits that are super easy/common here - oranges, papaya, mango, litchi, etc. And I'm really particular about texture when it comes to fruit. My apples & grapes have to be perfectly crisp, melons have to be not mushy, all while still retaining good flavor, which can be hard to find and expensive when you do. I also just have a mental block against the bananas here...sometimes they're fine, but a lot of times they're a weird texture and flavor and I just can't bring myself to eat them plain anymore. 

Enter the smoothie.

I finally realized that the textures/flavors of the fruits didn't matter so much in a smoothie, and now I can drink 2-3 servings of fruits in one glass! Win.

Here's my go to smoothie at the moment, because it's mango season. I'm sure you could change it up with pineapple or...I don't even know what else, because you can't get berries here. Someday I'll remember to get spinach at the store to add in. You could also sprinkle in some Crystal Light drink mix powder, or honey etc. to add extra flavor.

Fruit Smoothie

A few ice cubes

1/2 cup Dahi (Greek Yogurt)

1/4 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup mango cubes

1/2 of an apple, cut in small pieces

1 banana

Splash of juice (I like using Tropicana's Cranberry Delite)

Throw it all in a mixer, and blend until smooth. Yum!

What are some of your favorite smoothie combinations? I'd love more ideas!

Chicken Burrito Bowls

Yes, we are channeling our inner Chipotle today.

No, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that this is as good as actual Chipotle. No way. There's just something too delicious about Chipotle to be copied at home. 

But this is still really tasty!

And really, it's rather simple...Just assemble rice, chicken, and a yummy black bean & corn salsa.

So colorful and delicious!

To make my chicken, I just cooked the chicken in the crock pot with some chicken broth, shredded it, and then mixed it with some fajita seasoning. I prefer that method because I'm lazy and would rather have the crock pot cook the chicken than stand over the stove it's easy. But you could also cube the chicken and cook it in a little olive oil. You could also ax the chicken altogether and have a nice vegetarian, cheap meal!

Enjoy your (almost) Chipotle goodness!

Chicken Burrito Bowls

2-3 chicken breasts, seasoned with Mexican seasoning & cooked.

1-2 cups of basmati rice, cooked according to package directions.

For the salsa:

1 can equivalent of black beans - I use 1/4 of a package of dry beans that have been cooked, drained & rinsed

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 large or 2 small onions, chopped

1 green capsicum, chopped (bell pepper)

3 tomatoes, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Chopped Green chiles or jarred jalapenos to your heat taste

Handful of coriander leaf (cilantro), roughly chopped

1 TBS lime/lemon juice

1 tsp chili powder (American version)

1 tsp cumin

1-2 tsps salt

Mix all the salsa ingredients together. Layer the rice, chicken, salsa, and top with shredded cheese! I like to eat this with tortilla chips, but it would also be great rolled in a tortilla, and very Chipotle-esque. You can even get fancy and stir some lime juice/cilantro into the rice. Yummmmm.

A big bowl of delicious