Recipe - Goulash with Chicken and Rice

There are so many variants of goulash recipes, it's ridiculous.  If I am correct, it is basically just a medley of ingredients thrown together into a soup.  If it's not that, whatever.  I call this dish I make "goulash," so there.  I always make enough to last for a few days, and it's a great use for leftover chicken or Thanksgiving Turkey.

I should probably mention, before I get started, that I never measure anything when I cook.  If you're looking for a recipe that has exact measurements, you will be sorely disappointed.  Also, I never make this dish the same way twice, so I will include different options.

I will start off with how I made it on this particular evening, and then offer different options for you to adjust to your personal taste.

What you will need:

• chicken (I usually use 3lbs of boneless skinless breasts)
• instant brown rice (4 servings)
• 1 can of cannellini beans - drained and rinsed
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can drained corn
• 1-2 zucchini and/or yellow squash - sliced
• chicken broth (optional)
• marinade (optional)
• very large mixing bowl or stock pot

Having this for dinner was a last minute decision, so I didn't have time to marinate my chicken.  I made the decision to boil it in the marinade (hooray for executive decision making!).  You can cook your chicken however you want (boil, bake, use leftovers), as long as it ends up ripped up or cut up in your dish.  For the purpose of the recipe, I will let you in on what I used for a marinade.

Marinade:

• honey
• soy sauce
• red wine vinegar
• lemon juice (about 3 capfuls)
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• dried diced onions
• parsley

Instructions:

• Combine marinade ingredients in the pot with your chicken.  Fill the rest of the way with water, cover, and boil on medium heat until chicken is done.  Remove the chicken and let sit on a plate until it is cool enough to rip apart.  Save the broth.
• While the chicken is cooking, put zucchini and/or squash slices in a buttered skillet.  Saute on low until cooked through.
• Combine beans, tomatoes, and corn in a large skillet and heat on medium low until tomatoes and beans are done.  Season with salt and pepper.
• Rice: follow the directions on the box.
• Combine all cooked ingredients in a very large bowl or stock pot and stir together.  If you boiled the chicken, use about 1.5-2 ladle-fuls of the broth in the mixture to moisten the rice.

And this is what you get:

Well, this is what I got.  It looks funny.  It tastes awesome.

Now of course you're wondering about variations.  Like I mentioned earlier, I don't think I have ever made this the same way twice.  Here are a few ways to vary it up a bit:

1. Use leftover chicken or turkey.  You can pull it apart and warm it up in a skillet.
2. Steamed broccoli instead of zucchini.
3. Black beans (or any kind of beans) instead of cannellini beans
4. Pasta instead of rice.
5. Use whatever vegetables you want (example: leftover Thanksgiving veggies).

Enjoy!

Reheating Tip: Put some water in a microwavable cup and leave it in the microwave while reheating the food.  It helps prevent drying out of the food.