I went to the fridge, pantry and freezer thinking what do I have that I can make? Here is what I came up with.
Poor Mans Chicken
recipe by: Lauren Buczkowski
Serves 2 (just double or triple according to how many you are feeding)
Brown rice ( I have a rice cooker, because rice is the one thing I can't cook) I used 1 cup of uncooked rice. I got this going in the rice cooker. My rice cooker has a keep warm setting on it, so there was no fear of it getting cold.
The ingredients:
2 chicken breasts ( or however many you want to cook) dont' have chicken use turkey or you could even use pork chops.
a few tablespoons of oil
salt
butter (1 to 2 tablespoons)
1 table spoon cornstarch ( you can use flour here if you don't have cornstarch)
1/2 cup water
1 shallot ( you can use garlic, or onion instead)
3/4 of a red bell pepper sliced thin (you can use any type of pepper, you could even use squash or tomato or something like that) I liked the pepper in it though.
2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (don't have this use red wine vinegar, cooking sherry, apple cider vinegar or even chicken broth or soy sauce)
2 teaspoons of paprika ( I used spanish paprika you can use any kind)
Step 1: thaw chicken if frozen and salt both sides
step 2: put oil in pan and heat it up on medium heat ( you want a good sizzle when you put the ckicken in the pan, but you don't want the pan to be too cool or you won't get a nice brown crust)
Step 3: Put Chicken in pan and don't touch it. (don't pick it up to see if it is turning brown. (cook 5 to 8 minutes on each side... only flipping once)) While this is cooking you can slice your red pepper and shallot and mix your cornstarch and water together so it looks like milk.
Step 4: Once chicken is done take it out and put it on a plate to rest (this lets the juices run)
Step 5: put the pepper and shallot into the pan and let them cook down a little ( 3 to 5 minutes)
Step 6: add balsamic vinegar to the pan and start to scrape all the burnt bits from the pan. (about 1 minute)
Step 7: add your cornstarch liquid. and stir until bubbly. Then add in butter.
Step 8: place chicken back into pan.
Step 9: sprinkle with paprika and stir into sauce. Spoon sauce over chicken (turn down to low and simmer until ready to serve. ) Use salt and pepper until desired taste.
Step 10: put all the rice onto a serving platter and top with chicken then pour the sauce with the veggies over the rice and chicken. Serve and enjoy.
This is actually very pretty and you don't have to serve sides with it. I did make Jiffy cornmeal muffins which take about 20 minutes to cook.
I don't have a picture for this one, but next time I make it I will post a picture.
Why is this a poor mans meal? It is very versatile you can substitute many of the ingredients for things you have on hand. I go to my fresh produce market about 2 times a month and I am able to get so many veggies and spend about 20 dollars. I will use some of something (like the red pepper) and put it back in the fridge. I don't want it to go bad, so it became an ingredient.
The rice I bought in bulk a long time ago, but it has not reached its expiration date. The cornstarch, oil, and paprika are just things I always have. I didn't have to go buy anything for this meal. The chicken I had in the freezer. Bloom grocery stores are about the best you can get for sales on meat. I NEVER pay full price for meat. Usually their chicken goes on sale about once a month. I got 15 chicken breast for about 15.00 and I came home and wrapped them individually in tin foil and stored them in a freezer bag. This way I can grab the portion I need and not have to thaw out chicken that is extra. So the chicken cost about 1.00 each. One other very inexpensive way to get chicken is with the skin on and bone in. It is easy to just take off the skin and remove the bone after cooking.
My husband and I loved this meal and I will make it again for sure. It was very easy to make.
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