Chicken Pilaf

On of the small appliances in my kitchen that I simply adore is my slow cooker.  It is absolutely fabulous, especially when I have a lot to do in the day and know I will be too tired in the end to cook anything for dinner.  Luckily for me, most times I'm not the one doing the cooking but every-so-often I'm the one dawning the apron and pulling out the wooden spoons (even if I don't need the wooden spoons - I like wooden spoons).  Here is a fun, easy, and tasty recipe that you can make in your slow cooker...

Start with about 1 pounds of uncooked chicken.  We use chicken tenderloins for this recipe.  They're a lot easier to work with, and I prefer the dryer white meat than dark portions of a chicken such as the legs, thighs, etc. 

You'll include a rice.  We always use brown rice because of its nutrition value.  You'll need about 1 1/3 cup of uncooked rice.

Next, it's tomato sauce.  We actually use Prego spaghetti sauce instead of what is in a can of plain tomato sauce.  It add a little kick to the pilaf.  You'll need 2 cups.

We also add all sorts of spices and herbs... Curry, Turmeric, parsley, pepper etc.

You'll need 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder.

You'll also need 1/2 teaspoon of Turmeric.  I love Turmeric.  It's a fantastic spice that has great properties for reducing inflammation. 

Add 1 cup of bell peppers.  Use red, orange, or yellow bell peppers but not green.  Green bell peppers are too bitter for this dish and will work against the tomato sauce.  Red, orange, or yellow are sweet enough to enhance the tomato sauce.  We typically do a combo of red and orange, or red and yellow, or even orange and yellow simply because the colors add a great amount of pop to the dish.

You'll also throw in 1 cup of sliced black olives.  I love olives.  I have them on or with everything.  When I was little I used to put the olives on my finger tips and eat them off my fingers.  It drove my grandfather nuts, but I did it anyway. 

Add about 1/2 cup chopped celery.  I'm not a fan of celery but for this dish - it works.

After adding a few more ingredients like butter, water, onions, etc., you'll mix it well.  This is where your wooden spoon comes into play.  Simply put the lid on, fix your slow cooker settings, and leave it alone.

In the end, you'll have a fantastic dish you can serve alone or with a side veggie.  We usually serve it with broccoli because... well... I like broccoli.

Chicken Pilaf

1 pounds of sliced, uncooked chicken breasts

2 cups of tomato sauce

2 1/2 cups water

1 1/3 cups uncooked long grain converted rice

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped orange, red, or yellow bell peppers

1 cup black olives

1/4 cup butter

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoons turmeric

1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon parsley

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker; mix well.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.