Savoury Chicken and Rice

This is a great way to use bought readycooked or leftover chicken - and also pork or beef. You could double the ingredients for the rice and use the second portion to serve with a dish from the freezer the next day.

Serves 1

4 spring onions (scallions), sliced
200 g/7 oz/small can of chopped tomatoes
175 ml/6 fl oz/¾ cup boiling chicken or vegetable stock
½ red (bell) pepper, seeded and chopped, or 50 g/2 oz frozen sliced mixed peppers
A pinch of dried mixed herbs
75 g/3 oz/1/3 cup easy-cook (converted) rice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
75 g/3 oz/¾ cup roughly chopped cooked chicken

1. Put the spring onions in the ceramic cooking pot. Pour the tomatoes over, then the stock. Cover with the lid and switch on the slow cooker to High. Leave for a few minutes while measuring and preparing the rest of the ingredients.
2. Stir in the chopped pepper and the herbs, then sprinkle the rice over. Season with salt and pepper and stir again.
3. Re-cover with the lid and cook for 50-60 minutes or until the rice is just tender and has absorbed most of the liquid.
4. Stir in the chicken and cook for a further 10 minutes to heat the chicken through before serving.

Cook's tips
If you prefer, instead of adding cooked chicken at the end of cooking, stir 100 g/4 oz of raw chicken breast, cut into 2.5 cm/1 in cubes, with the peppers.
A small can of drained and flaked tuna fish or salmon also work well in this dish instead of the meat.
You can also stir in some chopped fresh herbs with the chicken, if liked, for extra flavour.

---