For a long time, I had the mistaken notion that one-pot meals were either simple in taste, or lacking in well-thought-out preparation. What I’ve learned is, while such meals might be a little easier to put together in a hurry, they lack nothing in taste or creativity.
Though on the surface this meal looks very similar to one of my chicken and rice dishes cooked in the rice cooker, the combination of flavors, along with bone-in chicken, and you get a richer, more satisfying meal.
Crock Pot Chicken and Brown Rice
INGREDIENT
1 T olive oil
4 bone-in, skin-in chicken thighs
kosher salt
ground black pepper
1 large yellow onion, cut into wedges
2 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 large carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 bay leaf
1 cup brown rice
2 cups chicken broth
EQUIPMENT
sharp knife
cutting board
Dutch oven
wooden spoons
PREP
Thaw chicken if necessary. Pat dry with paper towels.
Peel carrots and onion. Chop carrots and celery into 2 inch lengths. Cut onion into eight wedges.
Thoroughly rinse rice.
HEAT
Het olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, and place them in the pot skin side down. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 10 to 12 minutes, or 5 to 6 minutes each side.
Pour off nearly all the fat, then add onions and celery to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
Add carrots, bay leaf, and 2 cups of chicken broth to the pot. Stir in one cup brown rice. Season again with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until rice absorbs the liquid, about 40 to 45 minutes.
Let stand, covered for 10 minutes before serving.
SERVE
Dish out the chicken thighs and serve with rice and veggies on the side.
This sounds like fabulous, but healthy, comfort food! So glad to see a brown rice recipe. Try brown basmati rice. You may have to look for it at a health food store but it’s well worth the effort.
One question, should I use chicken broth or water? Both are mentioned in the recipe.
Sorry, it should be just chicken broth. I’ve corrected the recipe accordingly.
That was my fault, since I usually convert recipes like this that call for water to either chicken, beef, or vegetable broth. I guess when I adapted this recipe, I didn’t convert the ingredient all the way through.