Nutrient dense Chicken & Veggie Rice
This is a staple meal for us that we usually have once a week in our house! A bit of a cross between chicken and vegetable soup and a casserole, you can adjust it to be either option. It’s a great meal to make a big batch of so you have leftovers for lunch and to freeze - plus it’s friendly for baby led weaning making it a great family meal.
This recipe is a base to build more intense flavours on ~ it’s delicious just as it is but there’s lots of room to build upon it depending on your taste preferences. You can also use whatever vegetables you have on hand or whatever your kids like! I have pimped this up with homemade bone broth and beef liver powder to get those extra nutrients in. Some ideas to build upon this meal;
Add fresh herbs like parsley, sage or rosemary
Use ground spices like turmeric and cumin
Make it hot by adding fresh chilli
Make it into a curry by adding a curry paste like Thai Green Curry
Using organic ingredients is definitely preferable but I know this isn’t always feasible! I bought a whole organic roast chicken from Woolworths and roasted this up, adding chopped chicken breast to the soup just before serving. Buying larger cuts of organic meat usually works out more cost effective and you will have lots of meat leftover to use for another meal!
Ingredients
500g chicken (organic preferable), diced into chunks
1.5 cups brown rice and quinoa mix
1/2 brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 celery sticks, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 zucchini, diced
3-4 cauliflower florets, diced
1 cup frozen or tinned corn kernels
2 cups bone broth (or more for a more ‘soupy’ consistency)
Salt and Pepper to season
Method
Cook brown rice and quinoa according to packet instructions.
In a large pot, cook diced chicken in batches until browned. Set aside.
In the same pot, add onion, garlic, carrot and celery to sauté with the lid on until soft and translucent.
Add chicken back into pot along with bone broth to cover. Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer for at least 45 mins so chicken is pull apart tender.
In the last 15 mins before serving, add other vegetables like zucchini, cauliflower and corn kernels.
Season with salt and pepper and serve steaming hot!