Chicken Scallopini With Pesto Rice Recipe #SuccessRice #Ad

***Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Success® Rice. All opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***

It's no secret that I love to cook. It's actually one of my favorite things to do when I want to relax or de-stress. Something about being in the kitchen and experimenting with different foods and flavors just makes me incredibly happy. 

What is a bit of a secret is that while I cook just about everything from scratch with no issues whatsoever, one thing I have always found a way to screw up is rice. Yeah. I know. Rice should be easy to prepare. Even bachelors can do it. Talk about a blow to the ego!

 It's not that I cannot cook rice properly...It's that I end up doing about 5 million things at once and I forget to check the rice for doneness in time, and it inevitably turns to mush.  

The other night, my husband really wanted rice to be incorporated into our dinner. I felt my stomach get all queasy, and my nerves kicked in. Would I screw it up again? And then I remembered that I had picked up some Success Rice when we were grocery shopping. 

Success Rice is the ORIGINAL no mess, no measure boil-in-bag rice that cooks perfectly every time and is ready in less than 10 minutes. The white and brown rice can sit for up to 30 minutes before being served, making it virtually foolproof. This saves me quite the hassle as I make various sauces, chop veggies, and cook meat or poultry. The rice is something I simply don't need to think about anymore! 

So I started thinking about what I could make for dinner that included the rice. I wanted something drool-worthy, with fresh, vibrant flavors that were sophisticated enough to please my palate but still kid-friendly. (Toddlers can be picky, picky creatures!) 

I ultimately decided on an amped-up Chicken Scallopini with fresh mushrooms and bell peppers. I say amped-up because I like to take a well-loved recipe and put my own spin on it. Along with the chicken in its luscious sauce, I prepared a Basil Pesto Rice. 

First, I got my chicken breast out and pounded it down to about 1/4 inch thickness. This not only tenderizes the meat, it also allows for even cooking. Off to the side I had a dish full of flour to dredge the chicken in. 

Then I melted some fragrant garlic butter in a large skillet and dredged my chicken. The smell the filled my kitchen was heavenly....

While the butter was melting down, I grabbed a bag of Success Rice. I love the fact that this rice cooked while in the bag. This is less mess, and the finished product is so easy to drain and transfer!

Then I plopped the bag of rice into a large pot full of boiling chicken stock. I use chicken stock rather than water because the rice absorbs the flavor, making it really stand out. No one likes bland rice, right?  

As the rice cooked, I went to work on the chicken. I cooked it in the delicious garlic butter for about 6-8 minutes on each side until it was beautifully browned and tender. 

Then I removed the chicken and put it into a covered stoneware dish to keep warm while I made the sauce. 

In the same pan I cooked the chicken in, I added some earthy mushrooms and a sliced bell pepper. I let these cook down in the remaining garlic butter mixture, and made sure to scrape up all of the browned bits that the chicken left behind. This my friends is an explosion of flavor. Always, always incorporate the browned bits! 

Once the veggies were soft and browning at the edges, I added some white wine, lemon juice, and chicken base and let it reduce. Once it had reduced some, I added a secret weapon: heavy cream. I whisked this delectable sauce often to thicken it up and ensure that the butter and cream were well blended. I also added some other goodies, but you'll have to check out the recipe below for those details! 

Once the sauce was nice and thick, I turned off the burner. It's time for plating! I spread a nice even layer of the Pesto Rice onto our dinner plates. This served as a nice, cushiony "bed" for the Chicken Scallopini! Then I took the chicken breasts and placed them on top of the rice. Finally, I spooned tons of sauce and veggies over the chicken and rice, and added some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped Italian Parsley on top. 

Doesn't this look fabulous?! I wish I had a red bell pepper on hand for more color, but trust me here...Even with the duller looking yellow pepper, the flavor was amazing. 

This meal was a huge hit with my family. We enjoyed it out on our deck since the weather was absolutely perfect, and it ended up being a nice family dinner. The chicken was tender, flavorful, and very moist. The sauce and veggies were fabulous and packed with fresh, explosive flavors. This meal had very complementary flavor profiles with the zing of the wine and lemon juice and the creaminess of the butter, cream, and cheese. And let's not forget the Pesto Rice! This was absolutely fantastic, and since I used Success Rice, for once I didn't mess it up! (Phew!)  I think even a real Italian Nonnie would have been impressed! Even my finicky toddlers gobbled it up! Of course I cut up the chicken and served the rice on the side for them.

Here's the Recipe :

Ingredients :
              For the Chicken:

• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1/4 cup butter margarine
  
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  
• 4 ounces sliced mushrooms 
• 1 Bell pepper, cut into strips (Any color will work, but I had yellow on hand.) 
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
  

• Juice from one lemon
• 2 tablespoons chicken base
• 1/4 cup white wine or Sherry
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
  
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley, or to taste.
  

              For the Rice :

• 1 bag of Success Rice (I used white, but any variety will work!)
  
• 4 cups chicken stock
  
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil pesto (can use prepared, if desired.)
  

1. Pour 4 cups of chicken stock into a large pot. Bring to a rolling boil. Add one bag of Success Rice. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until done. (Don't worry! This can sit for up to 30 minutes and still be fine. It's fool-proof!)
2. While the rice is cooking, stir together the garlic and butter in a small bowl until well combined. Set aside.
   
3. Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken breast out until it's an even thickness, about 1/4 thickness.
4. By now, your rice should be done. Remove bag from the pot and pour it into a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and the pesto. Stir until well-combined. Cover and set aside. Now, back to the chicken!
   
5. Place the flour into a shallow dish, and dredge each chicken breast on both sides with flour. Melt the garlic butter in a large skillet over medium heat until it stops foaming, and cook each chicken breast until golden brown on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Sprinkle each breast with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the chicken breasts to a platter, and keep warm.
6. Cook and stir the mushrooms and peppers in the same skillet as the chicken until the veggies have absorbed the remaining butter in the skillet and have begun to turn brown at the edges. Stir in the lemon juice, wine, crushed red pepper, and chicken base. Stir to combine. Then whisk in the heavy cream. Reduce to a simmer. Adjust salt and pepper again, and stir 1/2 of the parsley into the sauce.
7. On plates, spread an even "bed" of the pesto rice. Top with chicken, and spoon sauce over the top. Add additional parsley and Parmesan cheese.
8. Enjoy!
   

Visit Success Rice for tons of easy recipe ideas you can prepare even on the busiest of weeknights!

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