School is just around the corner and I’m doing all I can to be as prepared as possible, especially when it comes to feeding the family. We have one daughter and she is beginning preschool, so I’m doing as much as I can to alleviate any stress or worries as we enter into this new season of life. First off, when the heck did she get this old. I literally feel as if she was just born a few weeks ago sheesh… Regardless, it’s inevitable and I’ve got to be ready for it.
We’ve always leaned on slow cooker recipes and make ahead meals to help when we get super busy and this recipe for Lemon Chicken with Broccoli and Rice is beyond perfect. We are doing our best to eat a little cleaner these days and just to prove it, I used vegan coconut butter in the video, not real butter. I’m sure you were wondering what I was talking about after I plopped a 1/3 cup of butter into the chicken pan. Lemon is always a huge hit in this family so I figured to make something that is guaranteed to be eaten and enjoyed I had better squeeze some into a butter sauce along with some chicken.
If my daughter won’t eat anything, it’s a sure bet she’ll at least eat some rice. I can’t even begin to tell you how easy it is to cook rice in a rice cooker. We’ve had a rice cooker at every restaurant I worked at and for good reason. It’s easy to use and keeps the rice warm after it’s cooked so that it doesn’t turn to mush. Using a rice cooker allows me to prep the other parts of this dish like the chicken and the broccoli.
There are tons of great make ahead meals out there, and if your family is a big lemon butter chicken fan then this make ahead meal is the perfect start to this upcoming school season! Happy prepping!
Make Ahead Lemon Chicken with Broccoli and Rice
INGREDIENTS
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- juice of ½ lemon
- 6 lemon wheels
- 2 tablespoons of capers
- 1/3 cup of vegan butter + 1 tablespoon
- 1 ½ cups of basmati rice mixed with 2 ¼ cups of water
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 3 heads of trimmed broccoli + 2 tablespoons of water
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.
- heat a large saute pan over medium high heat with olive oil and cook the chicken breasts for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown on 1 side.
- Flip the chicken over and stir in the lemon juice, lemon wheels, capers and 1/3 cup of vegan butter. Cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and slice. Set back in the pan and keep warm.
- Add the rice and water to a rice cooker and cook until it’s done.
- Stir in the thyme, garlic powder, and salt and pepper until combined and keep warm.
- Add the broccoli and 2 tablespoons of water to a medium size microwave safe bowl and cook in the microwave for 3 minutes. Mix in salt and pepper, and remaining 1 tablespoon of vegan butter.
- Divide all of the ingredients evenly amongst 6 containers and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Pull out, microwave until hot and serve.
