Counting down the days to Christmas with Spicy Jan – Day 7

Oh Instant Pot Oh Instant Pot … same traditional tune, new catchy jingle! Hum it loud and proud as you straighten up your chefs hat and prepare a simple chicken and rice meal with time to spare!

Arriving home at the end of the day with nothing left out,ready to prepare for dinner can be so frustrating. Have you ever said out loud, “I just went for groceries and there is nothing in the house to eat for dinner.” Almost everyone can relate to this and arriving home when you are tired from a long day is not the best time to start thinking about what’s for dinner. Especially at this busy time of year with wrapping, and shopping and parties to host.

In my experience, since using the Instant Pot, I find that dinner can be less stressful when the right ingredients are in the cupboard and freezer plus having the most efficient  appliances at your fingertips.

I’m going to share with you what I am having for dinner tonight and in the time I write this it should be done, it’s that quick and simple. In my freezer I always have individually frozen chicken, as in my home some like white meat, some like dark meat, therefore we have both available.

Tonight when I arrived home, I chopped two onions, and placed them in the bottom of my Instant Pot adding one cup of water.  I sliced open the packages of frozen chicken (thanks Carl’s Meats in Burford for having individually frozen breasts and thighs) and placed them into the water onion mixture. I secured the lid with the top dial set on ‘seal.’  Set timer for 30 minutes and voila, the chicken is cooking with no fuss and nothing on the stove to burn or boil over.  

My side for tonight will be garlic rice with grated carrots and peas.  All hail to the 4 cup rice cooker (thanks Sanders for introducing me to this magic wonder years ago) to the rescue for this quick and simple meal.  I just don’t have time to be standing over the stove, stirring a pot … no thank you! Here goes what is in my rice cooker as I type.  Half cup frozen peas, 2 grated carrots, 1 cup rice, 1 ½ cups water with 3 shakes of Oh So Garlic and Sunset Seasoned Salt.   I mix this together, placing the lid on and pressed the ON button!  (the great thing about a rice cooker is that it shuts itself off when done, woohoo!) 

If you are thinking this sounds so simple, it is.  Cooking with the right appliances and having he right foods in your home, packaged well for ready to prepare cooking can be much better for you than grab and go in the drive thru on those busy nights with a million things to do.

Trust me, I get it!  Busy schedules, holiday plans, homework to sign and agendas to check.  Try to take the 10 minutes to get everything cooking and then enjoy the 30 minutes cooking time and spend that time with the ones close by.

Oh, my timer just went, dinners ready! P.S.  any leftovers are perfect for next day lunch or even dinner on the go.

Follow the foodie fun with Spicy Jan at 4Brant.com every day in December 2018!  Bon Appetite!

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