The sweltering days of July in the South have finally given way to wonderfully mild afternoons and refreshing cool mornings, bringing a joyful change from the typically oppressive heat. My family embraces the “mock autumn” weather outdoors as we happily pull out the Weber grill and head to the food market, excited to pick up fresh vegetables, local shrimp, and meat for our weekend cookout. Our favorite food market is alive with the delightful aroma of the indoor coffee shop and buzzes with cheerful Saturday morning shoppers, reveling in these lovely temperatures. Once we get back home, I’m ready to pull out the patio grill and charcoal.

Grill lightly seasoned boneless chicken breasts over charcoal or gas grill 15 to 20 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165F (79 C). Cook with the lid on, flipping the chicken once. Use this same process for boneless turkey breasts.

I used an outdoor charcoal Weber grill but an indoor grill works well also. Ninja, Hamilton Beach, Cuisinart, and George Foreman electric grills are great for low fat indoor grilling.

Store in the frig for up to 4 days. This makes meal prep easy easier and quicker to manage.

6 chargrilled chicken breasts will be this week’s lunch, snack, and dinner for two

Flavorful grilled chicken salad with herbs is on the menu this week!

Grilled Chicken Wrap with bacon, lettuce, tomato makes a great sharable snack. Chop up chicken and bacon, mix with ranch dressing and toss in the veggies for a quick and delicious wrap! I used a large flour tortilla here.
Cool Chicken Pita has chicken salad, lettuce and tomato on pita bread served with one-half baked russet potato and sour cream is an easy made ahead meal for lunch break or dinner. A medium potato contains about 929 mg of much needed potassium. Top it how you like with butter, margarine, cheeses, or plain yogurt, even left over chili is good!

*Tip Bake a few russet potatoes on the weekend free time and store in the frig for an easy weekday side dish or snack. Just microwave for 2 minutes and they’re ready to top and eat!

Country Chicken and Rice is a comforting classic that never gets old. Here I’ve used diced grilled chicken and chicken broth with vegetables. Variations include using turkey, poached chicken or adding creaminess with cream of chicken soup and mixing up the veggies added for heartiness, flavor, fiber, and nutrition. You can also add quinoa to the rice for an interesting textured blend. It’s done in twenty minutes.

Make it your way!

Find the basic recipe next page. 

If grilling isn't your cup of tea, you can poach chicken or turkey breast in lightly seasoned broth with leftover veggies and light herbs. Here I've used leftover parsley stems, onion, and a halved carrot. Use low to medium heat to bring water to a low simmer and poach meat for about 20 minutes until internal temperature of 165 F (or 74 C) and tender. Drain under a bowl to reserve the liquid for future stock. 
Tip: Keep stock for up to 4 days in frig or freeze. Use it the next time you cook rice, barley, quinoa, or farro for natural added flavor.

Country Chicken & Rice, serves two

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup long grain rice, white or brown
  • 2 cups reduced sodium broth, chicken or vegetable (add 1/4 cup extra liquid if using brown rice)
  • 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black or white ground pepper
  • 1 dried bay leaf (if desired)
  • 3/4 cup fresh or frozen vegetables. Frozen mixed vegetable blend is shown in picture. It combines corn with bite-sized carrots and English green peas.
  • 1/4 cup chopped white or yellow onion (if desired)
  • 1 clove fresh garlic, chopped or 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic – no salt added
  • 1 cup cooked chicken or turkey breast meat, cut in cubes or course chop into chunky bite-sized bits

METHOD:

  • In a medium stock pot with good fitting lid, add butter or margarine and onion (if using). Turn on heat to medium low and cook about 8 minutes, stirring a few times to prevent sticking. Do not let the butter brown. If it does, the heat was too high and it’s best to clean out the pot and start over. Cook onions until translucent and caramelized or slightly golden.
  • Add the other ingredients and liquid, stir well to combine and bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Once liquid is boiling, stir it once from the bottom of pot, pop on the lid and turn down the heat to low.
  • Cook on low for 18 minutes without opening the pot. Trust the process! Rice can be sticky and dense when it’s stressed while cooking, it works best undisturbed. Set a timer for best results.
  • Once rice is done, remove from the heat and allow it to rest for 5 minutes with the lid on. Remember the do-not-disturb method. After the resting time, remove the lid, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon black pepper over the rice and lightly stir, mixing it from the bottom. Find and remove the bay leaf. Rice should be light and fluffy, ready to serve warm with a slice of corn bread, corn on the cob, side salad, or your favorite side dish.

*1 teaspoon of fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme is a good substitute for bay leaf

* Topping your dish with freshly chopped parsley adds an extra punch of flavor and color.

*For creamy chicken and rice, replace 1 cup liquid with one 10.5 ounce can Campbells cream of chicken soup.

Food Safety Tips:

Cooked chicken and rice is good for 1-2 days in a wrapped glass container. Cooked chicken can last in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days.

Lable and date your plastic wrap or foil cover with a permanent marker so there’s no guessing what’s inside or how long it’s been chilling.