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New family staple! Chicken and Rice (without the rice)

Before my Paleo days, I used to love my Grandmother’s chicken and rice casserole — hearty, warm, and oh so flavorful. I wanted for years to try to recreate it (without rice) but just never had much luck. It either required cheese, which I typically don’t use, or cashews, which were labor-intensive and turned out mediocre at best.  Anyway, my sweet friend Michelle sent me one of her family’s favorite recipes a couple of months ago, and I just finally made it.  In truth, at first glance of the recipe, I thought I’d tried too many recipes with the mustard and maple flavor (sorry Michelle!). While they are good, I just wasn’t sure this recipe would be that different from the others. Turns out I was really wrong! OMG, this was so good!!!
 
My kids and hubby loved it. So much so, Alice, my 13 year old daughter, had it for breakfast the next day.  And then, Scott, my hubby, came home from work to eat it for lunch. Even my dad loved it. I had him try it when he came by for a few minutes while I was cooking it. Even with his “already-full belly” because he had just had dinner somewhere else, he couldn’t quit eating it.  Thankfully, I doubled recipe, and I’m so glad I did. But it still wasn’t enough for us. It didn’t even last 24 hours. Anyway, thank you so much Michelle for this amazing recipe! I did make some minor tweaks to the original recipe, but only so I could cut down on cooking time, reduce some sugar and add some good fat.  I hope you guys love it as much as we did. 
 
 
You can get this frozen mixture from Costco. Publix and, I think, Whole Foods also sell individual packs in the freezer…
 
If you don’t love mushrooms or want a chance to the recipe because you make it so often like we do, you can use broccoli. I got a bag of organic broccoli from Trader Joe’s, steamed it and added it instead of mushrooms. I’m not sure which I like better but the broccoli seems to be a little quicker to make. I know this taken-with-an-iphone picture doesn’t do this meal justice, but it’s so good this way, too!!
Chicken and rice (without rice)
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Ingredients
  1. For the meal....
  2. 8 oz pkg sliced white mushrooms OR a package of (about 12 oz) or a head broccoli
  3. 4 tbsp butter
  4. 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite size pieces
  5. ½ tsp salt
  6. ½ tsp fresh black pepper
  7. 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed or the Quinoa/kale pack (see picture from post)
  8. For the Mustard Sauce....
  9. 6 tbsp Dijon or stone ground mustard
  10. 2 tbsp maple syrup
  11. 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  12. 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
Instructions
  1. Sautee chopped mushrooms in large pan with 2 tbsp of butter (or steam some broccoli in the microwave or in a pot)
  2. Cook until brown and set aside.
  3. Melt the other 2 tbsp of butter and cook the chicken until it is no longer pink (about 10-15 minutes).
  4. While the chicken is cooking, in a small bowl, mix the mustard, lemon juice, maple and oil together to make the sauce.
  5. Once the chicken is done, turn the stove on low, add the mushrooms (or the steamed broccoli) to the chicken, the frozen quinoa/kale mixture and stir together until the kale/quinoa mixture is thawed for about 5 or so minutes.
  6. Turn the stove off, add the sauce, and mix together with a fork until well blended.
  7. Then enjoy!
Notes
  1. It makes for great leftovers as the flavor soaks in!! You could add an extra tablespoon of maple if your family tends to like things sweeter but for us, 2 tbsp was perfect! The original recipe called for 4 tbsp.
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  • Shaney - Hi, when do you cook/add the plain quinoa if you can’t get the quinoa/kale mixture? Thanks!ReplyCancel

    • landriav - Hey Shaney! Sorry for my delay as I just saw this. I would assume you cook the quinoa as you normally would (I’ve never made it before to be honest) but then just add it in when you add in the sauce. I hope you like it!ReplyCancel

  • Natalia - Hey Landria! I am making your breakfast specialty for the first time to have for a few days (the ground chicken and veggie mix). I’m excited! I tried a spice mix from Costco – 21 organic seasonings blend. Definitely recommend it. I was wondering what your kids eat for breakfast and now I’m seeing from your last two posts that they sometimes eat leftovers. Nice! Curious – do they have any breakfast staples and do they make their own? Thanks so much for the ideas and inspiration.ReplyCancel

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