I Can Cooking! #7: Chicken and Veggie Skillet

 So, I was originally going to make this an Aliens in the Supermarket due to the use of Chayote, which is a somewhat unusual ingredient; however, since I used it in a somewhat more complex recipe instead, I figured an I Can Cooking! was more appropriate.

 This is a really easy dish to make, and is amazingly good as well (not to brag or anything).  Since I just kind of made up the recipe as I went along, there really isn't a name for it... so let's allow the picture to speak for it instead:

I call it... Chicken a-la McCurdy.

 Recipe after the jump!

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken filets:  I personally prefer thigh meat, as it's juicier, has more flavor, and is cheaper than breast meat... but this is really up to you.
• 1/2 onion
• 2 kohlrabi:  As seen recently in Aliens in the Supermarket!
• Chayote:  Though two are shown here, I found that just one was sufficient for the recipe.  If you can't find this vegetable, zucchini or butternut squash would work just as well.
• 2 cloves garlic
• rice
• 1 lemon
• butter
• various herbs and whatnot

 Recipe makes about 3 servings.

Not all ingredients pictured... but this is pretty much the gist of it.

But first, let's talk chayote.

 This odd vegetable (though botanically speaking, fruit), indigenous to Central America but perhaps more commonly known to English speakers as "choko" (as they are known in Australia where they're fairly prevalent), looks fairly similar in size and shape to a pear, but is infact a soft relative of gourds and melons.  They have a fairly mild flavor when raw, but open up beautifully with just a bit of cooking, picking up an almost nutty aroma.  It contains one large seed, but that seed is soft enough to be cut through and as such does not need to be avoided when cutting through the vegetable.

Choko!

Let's get cooking!

 First, we'll want to cook the chicken in a bit of olive oil.  If you're cooking the chicken from frozen, then cover and put the heat on low so the chicken will have a chance to thaw and then cook without skipping straight to burning.

POWERED BY STEEEEAAAAAMMM!!!

 Cube the kohlrabi.  Nothing too fancy here; just make sure the pieces are small enough to cook easily and thoroughly.

Now, where have I seen this before...

 Next, let's start working on the chayote.  It has a natural "crease" on the outside, use that as a guide for your knife.  Here you can see the seed I mentioned earlier.  The seed itself is edible, but the sort of waxy, cottony stuff around it (think about the rind of a pummelo or grapefruit) is not too great.

This would also make a nice knife advert.

 Let's just go ahead and remove those bits, shall we?

The inside scoop, hardy-har.

 Next, just cube the chayote, like so.

Actually kind of does look like it'd fit right in in an apple pie...

 As mentioned above in the ingredients list, a 2-1-1/2 ratio of kohlrabi, chayote, and onion should be just perfect.  Feel free to play around with the ratios to your liking, though.

ALL the cut veggies!

Cooking, phase 2

 Once the chicken is fully cooked, take it out, drain the excess liquid, and put in your kohlrabi and onions with a bit of olive oil and salt.  These will be cooked first, since the kohlrabi will take the longest time to cook, and both it and the onions could stand to lose some of their "funk" before introducing the other ingredients.

These will take a bit.  The lid helps.

 Once the chicken's cool enough to handle, cube it as well.

Chicken cubes:  tastier than the ice kind, though arguably less fitting for drinks.

 At this point, you should be good to put on the rice.  I HIGHLY recommend a rice cooker; they're really convenient and easy to use, and besides, who doesn't like rice?  Getting one with a steamer basket is even better.

Go, Speed Ricer, go!

 Zest the lemon.  Though not ideal, a cheese grater will work for this.  though little of the zest will actually fall through the other side, it should collect nicely on the inner wall of the grater, from where you can just wipe it out with your fingers and toss it into whatever you're using it for.  After you've zested, chop the lemon in half and juice it.

Okay, so it's not the recommended equipment, but whatevs.

 When the kohlrabi begins to soften slightly and the onions have started to look translucent, go ahead and add in your chayote, chicken, 1 crushed garlic clove, half of the lemon zest, a splash of the lemon juice, as well as some seasonings.  I used salt, basil, tarragon, celery salt, dry mustard, dill, and black pepper.  Stir these in, add more olive oil if needed, and cover.

Ohhhh, we're halfway theeeerrre~

 Once the kohlrabi and chayote are both tender (which should be not too long after the rice gets done), pull the chicken and vegetables aside so we can work on the sauce.

Or just have this, and call the recipe "one serving."

 Deglaze the skillet with a splash of the lemon juice, then melt 1/3 a stick of butter, along with 1 clove of crushed garlic, the rest of the lemon zest, some basil, oregano, and sage.  Simmer these together until the garlic becomes cooked, but not long enough for it or the butter to burn.

Herb butter:  your solution to EVERYTHING.

Dinner is served!

 Put some rice and the chicken and veggies mixture on a plate, drizzle about 1Tbsp of the herb butter mixture over the top, then sprinkle with some parsley and your favorite grated cheese.  Prepare to be wowed, and/or to wow whomever you've cooked this for!

It's okay to drool.

 Enjoy!