Caprese Chicken & Rice

I did it!

I scheduled a vaccine appointment!

Oklahoma opened up our state to phase 3 (which is most Oklahomans, like essential workers) yesterday and as luck would have it, I was signing up on the vaccine portal *right* when they announced phase 3. I managed to snag a highly coveted appointment for tomorrow.

I’m excited. I’m ready to get life back to normal. I’m ready to see my coworkers again and not through Zoom. I’m ready to eat out at a restaurant and not outside. I’m ready to go to a concert, baseball game, and family gatherings.

To celebrate my good fortune, I had this for dinner last night. Chicken and rice is one of my most favorite meals. I usually make it with cream of mushroom soup and dry onion soup mix, but this dinner needed to be even more special.

This is a stovetop chicken and rice that utilizes all the best ingredients of a classic Caprese salad. I threw in fresh tomatoes, tons of basil, a few drops of balsamic vinegar and then topped it off with mozzarella cheese.

It’s fantastic.

The rice took forever to cook, but that’s probably because I used brown rice. If you’re using regular long-grain rice, you might want to check it after about 20-30 minutes to see if it’s done and not stuck to the bottom of the pan. Brown rice takes much longer to cook.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

Caprese Chicken & Rice

• Servings: 4
• Time: 1 hr
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Stovetop chicken and rice with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 TBS. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil, divided
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 TBS. balsamic vinegar
• 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook chicken until no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes.
2. Stir in garlic and half of the basil and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer.
3. Add rice and stir. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or until rice is soft and most of the liquid is absorbed. If you need to add more liquid, add 1/2 cup at a time until rice is cooked.
4. Top chicken and rice with cheese and let it melt. Top with remaining basil and serve.