Easy dinner and dessert recipe: 1-skillet chicken and pesto rice, caramelized peach snickerdoodle cobbler (2024)

Caroline Chambers has just the answer for those home cooks who question what to make on nights they don't feel motivated in the kitchen.

The online food creator and professional recipe developer joined "Good Morning America" on Saturday to share a dinner and dessert recipe from her new cookbook, "What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking."

The mother of three's new book includes a range of culinary tastes and flavors, with dishes organized by the amount of time they take to cook to make dinner doable.

Check out her full recipes below.

One-skillet Chicken & Pesto Rice with Asparagus

Serves: 4

"In Carmel Valley, seemingly everyone has a backyard garden, so friends and neighbors are always dropping by with bundles of herbs they’ve clipped to give away. When you have a surplus of herbs, make a huge batch of pesto and freeze it in an ice cube tray for use all year long. This is one of my favorite ways to make pesto the star of a dish."

Ingredients
2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large shallot
4 garlic cloves
2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
1/4 cup pesto, plus more for drizzling
2 lemons
1 pound asparagus
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 F.

2. Pat the chicken dry, then season it all over with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

3. Thinly slice the shallot and garlic. Warm a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. When you flick a drop of water into it and it dances around the pan, it’s hot enough. Arrange the chicken thighs in the skillet skin side down. Sear for 3 to 4 minutes, until the fat begins to render, then add the shallot and garlic around the chicken. Season the shallot with a pinch of salt. Cook the chicken, undisturbed but moving the shallots and garlic around, until the chicken skin is golden and releases easily from the pan, about 15 minutes.

4. Flip the chicken skin side up. Pour in the stock, and add the rice, pesto, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Halve 1 lemon and squeeze the juice into the skillet. Use tongs to evenly spread the rice and liquid around the chicken. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then transfer the skillet to the oven.

5. Roast for 15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed much of the liquid.

6. Meanwhile, cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Cut the remaining lemon into 6 wedges.

7. Scatter the chopped asparagus over the top of the skillet, drizzle it with the olive oil, and season it with a big pinch of salt. Roast for 10 minutes more, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, the rice is tender, and an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 F.

8. Garnish with the feta and a drizzle of pesto. Serve with the lemon wedges alongside for squeezing.

Swap in 2 tablespoons harissa for the pesto for a spiced-up version. Dollop sour cream on top.

Caramelized Peach Snickerdoodle Cobbler

Serves: 6

"My mom is one of five siblings, and each of those siblings had three or four kids, and each of us kids have had two or three of our own kids . . . so there are a lot of us Thompson cousins. Every July, we descend upon Bald Head Island, North Carolina, for a week of beach games, shrimp eating, and beer drinking. Without fail, every single carful of cousins stops at one of the many peach stands along the final stretch of road before the ferry dock and grabs a massive basket of peaches. We proceed to spend days talking about what we should do with the hundreds of peaches sitting on the counter at every single house. This snickerdoodle cobbler was born out of just such a peach surplus and, in my opinion, is hands down the most fabulous way to consume a peach."

Ingredients
6 medium peaches, thinly sliced, or two 10-ounce bags frozen peaches
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 pint vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

2. In a 10-inch pie dish or ovenproof dish of any kind, combine the peaches, 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, the cornstarch, vanilla, and teaspoon of the cinnamon. Toss to combine and coat the peaches evenly.

3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Stir in the melted butter and buttermilk. Whisk until smooth.

4. Use a spatula to scrape the batter from the bowl on top of the peaches, covering them. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the topping is browned and the juices are bubbling around the edges of the pan.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the granulated sugar, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

6. Remove the cobbler from the oven and immediately sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar on top. Let rest for 5 minutes, then scoop into bowls. Serve topped with ice cream, if desired.

Swap: You can use 2 pounds of basically any fruit here. Apple and blueberry would be especially delicious with the snickerdoodle topping!

Recipe reprinted with permission from "What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking" by Caroline Chambers © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © 2024 Eva Kolenko.

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