Rice Bowl with Chicken & Veggies

For all my university dorm room dwelling visitors I have a cheap and quickie meal for you. And it's even nutritious! So get out the hot plate and cook up my steamed Rice Bowl with Chicken & Veggies recipe. This tasty meal is cheap too.

And it's a one pot meal that only takes the time to cook a cup of rice. And as for vegetables, I add a frozen veggie mix. There are a lot of different types, so you can use any favorite, like: Oriental Stir Fry, California Blend, and Cauliflower, Broccoli, Peas, Corn and Carrots. You can even combine almost any other veggies you find in your local grocery frozen case.

For protein I add a small can of cooked chicken. It's about the size of a can of tuna. If you prefer cooked roasted chicken from your neighborhood grocery, then use some of that.

If you want to kick the meal up a notch, then top it all with a fried egg. Many Eastern cultures top an entree with a fried egg. Mix in a creamy yolk with the Rice Bowl and you'll see and taste why.

One pound packages of frozen veggies are cheap at any grocery store or Dollar Tree. You know how inexpensive rice is. As for chicken I get small cans of it from my local 99c only Store.

If chicken is too expensive then top the cooked veggies and rice with a fried or scrambled egg. Of course, you can keep this meal vegetarian and leave out the chicken and egg.

You can drizzle on my Rice Bowl with Chicken & Veggies a favorite condiment, like soy sauce, chili sauce, sweet and sour sauce, hot sauce, or anything you have on hand.

So just dump in those cheap ingredients into a pot and and get to cooking. You and your dorm roommate can devote your new found time to studying (yeah, right) while my simple and tasty recipe cooks away.

Ingredients (about 2 servings) 
1 cup of rice - white or brown rice.
1 package of frozen veggies - about 1 pound. Okay to use any favorite type, like:  Oriental Stir Fry, California Blend, and Cauliflower, Broccoli, Peas and Carrots. You can combine any you have in the freezer.
1 small can of cooked chicken - I used a 5 ounce can. Okay to use any leftover cooked chicken, included roasted chicken from your local grocery deli department.
1 1/2cups of water - for cooking rice. Normally it's 2 cups of water, but frozen veggies also provide liquid, so less water makes for less mushy rice.
Pepper to taste - I leave out salt, as the canned chicken has enough salt for me, but you can add some if you like.
Optional - Add a fried egg on top of finished rice bowl.

Directions
 In a pot or rice cooker add water, rice, chicken and frozen veggies. You can add the liquid from the canned chicken too.

Cook according to rice package directions. Usually, bring water to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Let the rice rest covered for 5 minutes more.

For extra protein, while the rice is resting, fry an egg to top your Rice Bowl with Chicken & Veggies.

Hindsight
You could use raw chicken, but cut it into small bite-size pieces, so it cooks all the way through. And mix chicken into the rice and water. When done, cut into largest piece of chicken to make sure there is no pink color.

To fry an egg, like they do for a Japanese rice bowl, just add a tablespoon of oil to your egg pan over a medium heat. Crack an egg and add it to pan, careful not to break the yellow yolk. Now just let it cook until the white is cooked solid and the yolk is still soft. No need to turn the egg. When egg is done gently scrape it loose from the pan. Place the fried egg on the Rice Bowl when serving.

This meal is easy to reheat in the microwave the next day, too.