Chicken bacon rice bowls

I feel happyyyyy,

Oh so happyyyyy,

I am happyyy and witty, and gayyyy

And I pityyyy any girl who isn't me todayyyy!

 

Sorry for being annoyingly upbeat today. Something in the air, I guess? Thanksgiving is next week (my 30th birthday just so happens to fall on Turkey day this year), it's Mama K's birthday today (shoutout to my favorite lady in the 'verse), I feel light and airy and like I have tons of time now that it's not all taken up by wedding planning (married life is swell, by the way), I'm back in the swing of Kosama with a great workout partna (Kristyn, you've been a lifesaver to my motivation), it's almost the weekend (where we get to celebrate Brandy Sue's birthday, yeaaahhhhh), and ohhhhh what else...do I really need any more reason to be in a fabulous mood? I think not. So you're going to have to deal with my extra bubbles today, be grateful you can't hear me squeal about how yumtastical this meal was, and how mad I am that I had never thought of it before because it is soooooo easy. Be very grateful.

 

This recipe came from my favorite place to steal sweet food ideas from, Iowa Girl Eats. It's ok, you can like her better than me. I like her better than me. I've come to terms with it. I saw this posted a couple weeks ago, happened to have all ingredients standing at attention, ready to report for duty, and decided this was happening...immediately. I tweaked it a bit to what I had on hand and now, my grasshoppers, I share this with you...

 

8 slices bacon

2 bags rice (I used Uncle Ben's long grain and wild per usual)

2 large chicken breasts, cut into bit sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 can mushrooms

4 cups baby spinach

 

Cook your bacon to your liking, everyone likes it different you know. I like ours crisp but not crispy...still some rubbery to it but it has to be done. Do as you wish with this part. IGE actually baked her bacon, but I wanted to use a bit of the bacon grease to season this rice bowl (my father would be so proud) so I cooked it like normal in a skillet. Take the bacon out, drain over half the liquid and add 2 t of olive oil. Add the chicken and saute until cooked throughout. Add mushrooms and garlic, stir continuously so garlic doesn't burn. Add the spinach to the skillet and allow it to wilt beautifully. Cook the rice packets in the microwave and add them to the skillet to allow everything to cook all together for a bit. Use kitchen shears to snip the bacon up into small pieces to add to the party, and you're ready to serve!

 

Did you notice that you only used one skillet? Hot diggety-no dishes-dog! I mean, you do have a couple dishes, the skillet and the stirrer you use, but that sounds better than hot diggety-minimal dishes-dog. Know what I mean? Anywho...I threw a bit of soy sauce on here for a little extra flava and I was one happy camper. I saw the forkplane of rice fly into my mouth more than once while I was putting the leftovers away.

 

P.S. The leftovers are gone. They gone.