cylentlycrafting

Ingredients:

1 LB Perdue Ground Chicken ($3.64)

1 Bag Bird's Eye Oven Roasters Sweet Potatoes Carrots & Red Potatoes ($2.97, was on sale)

5 Servings (1/2 cup dry) Great Value Instant Brown Rice: $.90

1 Can Great Value Chickpeas: $.78

2 Cans Great Value No Salt Added Dark Red Kidney Beans: $1.56

1 10oz Can Rotel No Salt Added: $1.24

1.5 Cups Great Value Unsalted Beef Broth: $.50

1 Orange Bell Pepper: $1 (got it in a pack of 3 for $3)

2 Servings Great Value Seasoning Blend Frozen: $.70

2 TBPS Great Value Classic Olive Oil: $.20

Seasoning for Rice: Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cumin, Chili Powder, Paprika, a SMALL amount of Cayenne, Black Pepper, added Accent when finished.

Seasoning for Chicken and Veggies in Pot: The exact same minus Cayenne, but added Accent while it was cooking.

I HIGHLY recommend following the instructions on the packaging for any rice you use and if you plan to bake your veggies! (Or look up a recommended cook time.)

I followed the directions on the Oven Roasters, making sure to preheat my oven before I started prepping anything else. I lined a pan with aluminum foil (highly recommend doing that for easier cleanup! It saves me HELLA time.), tossed the veggies on, and gave them a light spray with canned olive oil. This is not necessary and does not add any calories, but I like crisping my veggies up a little so they hold their crunch when I freeze them.

After getting that into the oven, I put the broth and water for the rice on to boil (I counted the broth into the rice's needed water), then got my olive oil heating to medium heat in a large pot. You want a pot big enough to hold everything but the rice and oven veggies!

When the olive oil is heated, add the frozen seasoning blend (or onions, onions and peppers, etc) and give it roughly 5 minutes to cook and thaw the onions before adding the bell pepper. After adding the bell pepper, give the mixture another 5 minutes to sweat the vegetables.

When the water is boiling, get your rice in.

After the veggies have sweated, get the ground chicken in the pot. Season both the rice and the chicken veggie mixture. (I go pretty heavy with seasoning as I don't add salt to anything due to my diet.)

Set your rice and the oven veggies to the side, and turn your full attention to the chicken mixture.

When the chicken is about 3/4ths of the way cooked (most of it has changed color, there can still be some pink just not much), add in your chickpeas. This gives them time to soften a little and start soaking in all that seasoning. You can add the Rotel and beans in now as well, or wait till the chicken is starting to brown.

I believe I gave it an additional 15-20 minutes to let the flavors mix and merry.

When everything is done, either serve with the chicken mix on top of the rice and oven veggies, or if you meal plan like I do, I used those long rectangular bowls that have no sections, and put my rice on one side, the chicken mixture on the other, and the oven veggies on top of the middle area!

Hope you enjoy <3

INGREDIENTS:

2 TBSP of all purpose flour (Used: unbleached all purpose flour)

2 TBSP of margine or butter (Used: Smart Balance Olive Oil Spread)

8 TBSP of oil (Used: Great Value Classic Olive Oil)

3/4ths of a container of Frozen Seasoning Blend (it's an onion and pepper blend from Walmart that also contains celery and I believe parsley)

10oz of pasta (Used: Barilla Protein Spaghetti)

3 Cups of Half and Half (Used: Great Value Fat Free Half and Half)

One bag of frozen broccoli cuts

1 lb of fresh, extra large shrimp

2 lb of diced chicken breast (Used: Perdue Diced Chicken Breast)

One Frigo parmesan wedge, grated.

Seasonings: garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, Accent, and poultry seasoning. Can use salt to replace Accent, I cook my foods to fit a low sodium diet.

Utensils used: clawed spoon, 2 big pots, a large frying pan, tongs, spatula, cup measure, tbsp measure.

First things first, you're gonna want to mix one TBSP of flour with poultry seasoning, onion powder, black pepper, and garlic powder. Right after, get a big pot boiling with enough water for your pasta. I tend to just follow box directions.

Get 2 TBSP of olive oil heating to medium high heat (like between medium and six) in a large pot, you'll want one you can eventually add ALL your ingredients into, so keep that in mind. Cook your diced chicken in batches, making sure to not overcrowd the pot. I used 6 TBSP in all to get it all cooked, and each batch took roughly ~10-15 minutes each.

While your chicken is cooking, finish your pasta, and set it to the side in a strainer. Make sure to reserve half a cup of pasta water. Go ahead and throw your shrimp into some seasoning: black pepper, A LITTLE cayenne (a very small amount goes a long way), garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and accent/salt.

If the chicken's coating starts making a really bad black patch on the pot, you can scrape off some, but do NOT remove any from the last batch. Once all the chicken is done, you're gonna add the butter/margarine to the chicken pot. When it's melted, add your seasoning blend to it.

After the seasoning blend cooks down, add your other tbsp of flour and STIR!!! You're making a roux, don't let it burn! It'll be done when it's like a dark brown paste. Add pasta water, stir, then add your half and half and parmesan. Turn to medium heat.

While still occasionally stirring your cream sauce, get a frying pan out. Put one TBSP of olive oil in it and get it to medium high heat. This is what you'll be cooking your shrimp in; do not put the shrimp in the oil until it sizzles! Shrimp should only need 2-3 minutes on each side, flipping only once. You'll know they're done when the skin starts to curve out and turn where it used to be blue! Add the other TBSP of oil when the previous one burns off.

*IF using cooked, just add it to cream sauce when you add your chicken, and instead use the oil for your broccoli.

Add broccoli to shrimp pan. CAREFUL, it's going to pop and crack and be very angry as it's frozen broccoli going into a hot pan. Be careful!!! You only need it to cook enough to take some of the bite out.

While broccoli cooks, add shrimp, chicken, and pasta to your cream sauce. Add broccoli once it's done. Let it thicken up a little, then serve!