Today I'm going to share one of my family's favorite weeknight meals with you, our version of a cafe' yumm bowl. It is a very simple recipe that can be altered to cater to even the most picky eaters and easily adjust for everyone's various health needs.
Of course ours includes rice, we prefer to use long grain brown rice or jasmine rice but it can be made with any type of rice or quinoa. I'm sure it could be made with tofu as well or another substitute for rice that you prefer. I always like to make a big batch of rice in my favorite small kitchen appliance, my instant pot. *Friends if you don't have one of these babies yet you are missing out!! IMHO ;) For our family of 4 I like to make 4 or 5 cups of rice (that usually leaves me with plenty of leftovers that can be used in another meal later in the week and for lunch the next day). After my rice is cooked I empty it from my I.P. and mix in my previously cooked/shredded chicken (I like to make mine in my I.P. as well, it not only saves time but it also allows me to only have 1 pot to clean after the meal is done so it is a win win in my bookđ)
While the rice or chicken is cooking in the instant pot I slice and dice my toppings, cook either black or red beans (sometimes both) that we will add to our bowls and get out the rest of our toppings. Usually prep time takes about 5-15 minutes depending on how many beans I am cooking and what I am slicing up for the toppings.
Next I pile a scoop or two of the rice/chicken combo into bowls, add a scoop of black or red beans, top with a little sprinkle of cheese and serve to my family. I let my family choose from an assortment of toppings of: sliced avocado, olives, diced tomatoes & bell peppers, a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of our favorite (trader joes) sweet and spicy chili sauce. Sometimes we add other veggies if we are feeling adventurous đ Really the possibilities are endless.
From start to finish this meal usually takes about 45 minutes (if I need to cook both the chicken and rice) otherwise it is around 20 minutes for the rice to cook and about 15 minutes to prep the rest. The total prep/cook time is around 35 minutes.
Another one of our favorites is homemade chicken noodle soup in the instant pot. If I have already made chicken for a previous meal I set a little aside and will use that reserve in this quick meal. Otherwise I add 4-5 frozen or fresh chicken breasts to my instant pot, add 1-1 1/2 cups water and cook on manual heat for 12-14 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breasts. Do a quick release, remove chicken from I.P. to a dish for shredding, shred and set aside. Next slice 3 medium carrots and 3 medium celery stalks. Dice 1 small onion and add all ingredients into your instant pot. Turn pot to saute and saute all the veggies for about 5 minutes to lightly brown and bring out their flavors. Add a small dash of salt, pepper and ground basil or your favorite seasonings to the pot, add in 1 bag of egg flower noodles or any other noodle that you prefer, mix in a generous portion of your shredded chicken and cover with 1 14oz box of chicken stock. Add equal parts water and chicken stock to the pot if you want to increase how the amount of soup. Add the lid to your instant pot, turn the valve to seal and set the timer to 5 minutes on manual.
While the soup is coming to pressure and cooking you could pop some garlic bread or sourdough bread in the oven to warm as a tasty side to your soup. After the timer beeps on the instant pot do a quick release, open the lid and stir the soup and turn off your instant pot to let the soup cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve soup with a sprinkle of cheese or dollop of sour cream, a few slices of warm baked bread or soup crackers. Enjoy!
Happy Cooking!
~K
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