Brown Rice Bowls in Easy Beer-Cheese Sauce

I have a fantastic idea for a new game show. Contestants bet money on words they guess they would or would not ever utter in the future. Then the game zooms into the future to see if they were correct. It could be quite tricky, with the stakes higher the more children they have had. How could a 20-something ever predict they’d utter words like “Take that soldier out of your nose” and “Did you pee on that book?” and “No, Clorox wipes are not for your bum.” Kate Plus Eight should host. She’d always, always be able to one-up any contestant with horror stories. And my contestant-self would surely plunk down the whole farm on that fact that I’d never say “My kids are tired of kale chips.”

But they are. So imagine my pleasure when these brown rice bowls pleased everybody. Huge hit. You maybe have noticed I haven’t said that lately. While I am doing a delirious happy dance every time the farm share delivery arrives, the kids aren’t as excited. They’ve seen enough of ratatouille and random greens, and they’re tired of kale chips. Tired. Of kale chips. Who ever thought I would be saying that?

So I was quite happy to serve up something they all loved. They’re not always easy to please. Me? I’m simple. Nothing makes me happier than a one-bowl meal. I love to hold it in my hands, and spoon bite after bite into my hungry mouth. Especially with my cat in my lap. While watching Downton Abbey. But pleasing them is a little tougher.

What makes this recipe even better is that it’s brimming with my fave healthy ingredients like brown rice, broccoli, and chicken breast.  How can you, too, have this little slice of heaven? Believe it or not, it starts with Campbell’s soup.

I don’t often cook with canned soups. However, there are several ‘healthified’ versions that can provide the perfect base for a quick and hearty meal without skyrocketing the sodium or fat content. Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom soup provided the base for this recipe. The soup, along with some low-fat cheese, half-and-half, and Sam Adams IPA, creates an amazing creamy beer-cheese sauce to blanket the ingredients perfectly.  Creamy, cheesy, with a slight note of malty beer in the background. Minutes to make. What could be better than a quick and easy beer-cheese sauce? Weeknight supper just got WAY MORE FUN.

RECIPE NOTES: Just a few tips, before you take a look at the recipe. Number one, this is a lightning fast weeknight dinner if you happen to have cooked chicken, brown rice, and broccoli ready to go. You literally heat up the sauce ingredients, then mix everything together and heat it through.

I did not, so here’s how I managed it. During the day, I used my two-tier steamer (which I rely on heavily) to steam the rice and the chicken at the same time. Huge time saver, and I loved the tender, juicy chicken so much this will be my go-to method from now on. Next I steamed the broccoli in the same steamer. While that was cooking, I combined the soup with the beer, cheese, half-and-half, and seasonings, and brought it to a very light boil on the stove top. Once the broccoli was done, I added the broccoli, chicken, and rice to the sauce. Voila! Dinner via brown rice bowls. 🙂

Brown Rice Bowls in Easy Beer-Cheese Sauce
Serves 6

Prep time: 10 minutes     Cook time: 5 minutes  (if ingredients pre-cooked)  OR 45 minutes

2 cups boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
2 cups broccoli florets, steamed
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can  Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom soup
4 ounces beer (I used a Sam Adam’s IPA)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup Mexican blend shredded  cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder

In a large saucepan, combine the soup, beer, cheese, half-and-half, and garlic powder. Cook over low/medium heat until the edges are just beginning to bubble. Add the remaining ingredients and heat through. Do not allow to fully boil or the half-and-half will ‘break’ leaving tiny white flecks throughout your sauce.

Enjoy!!