What’s your favorite slow cooker recipe? For some of us, it’s all about a big meaty chili dish that we can tuck into for an entire week without cooking. For others, we might want to use it to make a rack of ribs the easy way without busting out the grill. For still others, it’s all about whipping up a creamy and delicious soup that feels light but keeps us full. Still, the recipe we have for you all today is a little bit different than any of those options.
That’s because this slow cooker recipe has two steps to it. Today, we’re making a delicious chicken rice casserole using our slow cookers as well as a sauté pan. Without getting into it to early, we’re going to make sure to bump up the flavor of the chicken before adding it to the pot along with rice and a bunch of veggies and seasonings. The result is a rich and flavorful rice dish complete with fall-off-the-bone chicken mixed in. So what are we waiting for?
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 pounds of bone-in chicken thighs (skin off)
- 2 teaspoons of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of coriander
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 finely diced onion
- 6 minced cloves of garlic
- 2 cups of minute rice
- 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 cups of frozen peas (optional)
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- black pepper
Here’s what you do:
1. To get started, pull out your chicken thighs and season them with your cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Be sure to rub all the spices in both sides of the chickens with the skin off. When you’re satisfied, set them all aside.
2. Next, break out a large sauté pan and get it going over high heat. Add in two tablespoons of oil and wait for it to begin to smoke. At this point, throw in your chicken thighs with the bone facing down. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan so that each piece gets its time to brown adequately. Adjust the heat as needed, cook on both sides and repeat with all the pieces of chicken (at this stage, the pieces don’t need to be cooked all the way through).
3. After that, throw your minute rice and the rest of your olive oil into the slow cooker. Add your onion, garlic, peas, tomatoes, chicken stock and bay leaf as well. Stir everything together well so it’s all evenly combined.
4. When you’re ready, put your browned chicken pieces on top of everything and press it down slightly so that it’s nestled into the rice. Close the lid and let everything cook on high for two hours.
5. After enough time has passed, open the slow cooker and cut into the chicken to make sure it’s cooked all the way through. If everything seems good, scoop it out into bowls and serve it up hot!
While this recipe does have one step more than some other slow cooker meals, the quick browning of the chicken at the beginning adds a delicious meaty flavor to the rest of your dish. As an added bonus, the slower cooking process to finish off the meat results in chicken that is so soft and buttery when everything is finally ready to eat. Though the above recipe is pretty solid, feel free to experiment and add in your own spices and seasonings as you see fit. Above all, have fun with the process and let us know how it goes!
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