Geez!! I've missed you guys!! When I wrote a couple of weeks ago that I might not be able to keep up the 5 days a week posting, I thought maybe I'd cut down to 4, or at the very least, 3 days per week. I had no idea that I wouldn't be able to manage more than one!!! But life is steamrolling over me, in a good way, so I can't really complain, but there just hasn't been time to cook, photograph, write and post. Part of that I can blame on a recent hockey trip to Canada where I unexpectedly had extremely minimal access to the internet, part is due to visits from family, but mostly it's that I'm out all day (and many nights too) and keep making the same already posted tried and true food again and again (or bringing in pizza far too many nights!!) I'm really in awe of people who work out of their homes and manage to get home cooked meals on the table almost every night.! Thus, in the interest of sanity (yours, but mostly mine) we're going to be keeping things very simple around here for the time being. Today it's this fantastic One-Pot Chicken and Rice with Peas and Parmesan that is the perfect answer to what to make for dinner during this transitional season. It's warm but not heavy, comes together in under an hour, is extremely comforting and flat-out fantastic tasting!! And in the interest of simplicity and the fact that time is ticking away and I still have a huge pile of laundry to fold, I'll refrain from the witty banter and just get right to the nitty-gritty:  Make this tonight!! You're gonna love it!!

One-Pot Chicken and Rice with Peas and Parmesan

Makes 6 servings

Prep Time:  About 1 hour

Ingredients

• About 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
• 3 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• About 1 pound frozen peas, thawed
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

The Recipe

1.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large pot, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Lay half the chicken in the pan and cook on both sides until browned, anywhere from 5-8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken, adding another 2 teaspoons of oil in the process. Remove the second batch of chicken but do not wash out the pot.

2.  Add the remaining teaspoon of oil, onion, garlic and a dash or two of salt to the pot. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onion has softened. This should take about 10 minutes. Then add in the rice, stir well, raise the heat to medium and cook the pot uncovered for about 3 more minutes. Then stir in the broth and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pot, lower the heat to low and cook for 10 more minutes.

3.  Lay the chicken on top of the rice mixture, cover the pot again and cook for another 15 minutes until the chicken in entirely cooked through. Check and make sure it's done--otherwise cook it for longer. Remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

4.  Add the peas to the pot, cover and let sit for about 5 minutes, allowing the peas to steam and become cooked. Then stir in the cheese, season to taste with salt and pepper, add the chicken (you can leave it whole or cut it up into pieces) give everything a good stir, let it heat up for a minute or two and serve.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from The Best Light Recipe by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated. The original recipe called for broccoli and cheddar but I subbed in peas and parmesan instead and left out the white wine and thyme since I didn't have any in the house. It was amazing anyway!!