Monday, January 31, 2011

Not Your Mom's Chicken and Rice

Today was my husband's first day back to work after stand down and when he came home I was starting dinner (I'm such a good wife) so naturally he asked what I was making. I told him "Chicken, rice, and a salad." Sounds like diet food, I know. The great part about eating healthy is that it doesn't have to be boring! If all you ate was grilled chicken breast and broccoli for a month you'd go crazy!! So here is a super easy dazzled up version of chicken and rice to keep your tummy and your tastebuds happy.

This meal consists of three parts: chicken, rice, and a salad. It's been proven that you feel most satisfied when you eat a meal that combines multiple flavors and textures so here we're mixing sweet and spicy flavors. The contrast of the warm meat and rice against the cool crisp veggies is also a plus. Feel free to modify them however you like, I'll just go through what I used.



Rice:
  • Rice
  • Orange Juice
  • 1 tsp Chili powder
  • 1 tsp Red Pepper flakes
I use long grain brown rice which takes about 45 minutes to cook so I start this first. I started with 3/4 recommended water and 1/4 orange juice. I prefer orange juice whose only ingredients are orange juice. Add all ingredients to the saucepan and cook as otherwise directed.

Chicken:
  • Boneless skinless chicken breast, preferably free range, raised without antibiotics
  • Orange juice
  • Sliced onions
  • Grated cheese (any kind) for topping
 Marinate the thawed chicken in enough orange juice to cover it for a few hours. Grill the chicken til cooked through. We use the griddler by Cuisinart. In the last few minutes, put the onion slices on the grill to tenderize.

Salad:
  • Your choice of greens; I used romaine and spinach
  • Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Zuccini
  • Almonds
By the time you're done chopping your vegetables the chicken and rice should be just about done. Today all our plates were miraculously in the dishwasher so we ended up with a rather unattractive pile of salad, rice and chicken in a bowl. It was still delicious so I'll explain it anyway.

I put the salad in the bowl and refrigerated it for a little bit (about 10 minutes) so the veggies would stay crisp even with the addition of warm chicken and rice. After refrigerating I added a few lightly salted almonds for crunch and a little pure balsamic vinegar. Then I scooped a half cup of rice on top of the salad and placed the chicken breast on top of the rice, salt and pepper to taste. Top the chicken with the grated cheese and the onions.
Serve. 

Delicious.

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