Wow! I guess it has been a while since I’ve posted! Summer can get crazy, especially when trying to balance, school, work, a social life, a blog, and working out! Some of these things have suffered lately, but I’m working to get myself back on a good schedule and manage my time better!

With that being said, eating healthy has slacked lately, because when time is short, you end up eating out a lot more often. So when I tried to think of something that was both fast AND healthy to cook for Dan and I for dinner the other night, this recipe is what I came up with! I will admit, I kind of winged it through making this dinner, so feel free to adjust things to make the recipe your own!

I diced up half a sweet onion, one red bell pepper, one beef steak tomato, and 3 green onions.

I took about 1 pound of chicken, trimmed the fat, and cut it into bite size pieces. (Actually, I didn’t do this part, Dan did. It makes dinner prep go faster when you have an extra pair of hands!)

Once everything was prepped, I put the chicken in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and seasoned the chicken with garlic powder, crushed red pepper, italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Again, since I was winging this recipe, I didn’t use exact measurements for my seasonings. Hard to follow a recipe without measurements, I know, but just use your favorite seasonings to taste, and I’m sure it will turn out great!

Once the chicken was almost cooked through, I added in the red pepper and onion. I then let this all cook for about 5 minutes, until the veggies were crisp-tender.

Once the peppers and onions were cooked, I stirred in the tomato, 1 1/2 cups brown rice, 1 1/4 cup water, and about a half cup of chive and onion cream cheese. You could easily use sour cream instead of cream cheese, but since that was what I had on had, it is what I went with. Once everything was mixed well, I covered the pan, stirring occasionally, and allowed the rice to cook for about 10-12 minutes.

After the rice was fully cooked, I stirred in 1 cup of shredded cheese until fully melted, and added in the green onions. I mixed it all together until the green onions were evenly distributed, and then dug in! This meal turned out to be very easy, cheap, and fast! Next time I would probably add in some hot peppers and some chili powder, because as you all know by now, I love everything spicy!

Chicken & Veggie Rice Skillet

Servings: 4-6

1 lb chicken, fat trimmed and chopped into bite size pieces
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
2-3 green onions, diced
olive oil
seasonings (I used garlic powder, crushed red pepper, italian seasoning, salt, & pepper)
1 1/2 cups instant rice, uncooked (I used brown, but white rice would work as well)
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup chive & onion cream cheese (or sour cream)
1 cup shredded cheese

Brown the chicken in olive oil, about 3 minutes each side
Once chicken is almost cooked, stir in onions and peppers. Cover, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 5 minutes
Stir in rice, water, cream cheese, and tomatoes, mixing well. Reduce heat. Cover, stirring occasionally, and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until rice is tender.
Turn off heat, stir in shredded cheese until melted. Top with green onions, stir just until mixed, and serve!