Lemon-Sauced Chicken with Broccoli and Peppers

Let me start by saying that no, not all of my recipes consist of rice and chicken. :)

Last weekend when we were in Boston visiting friends, my friend Kerry pulled out a recipe book that she never uses. Its from the American Heart Association and its called Quick & Easy Cookbook. She offered to give it to me, saying that she never uses it. Given that we are on a heart healthy diet for the most part, I took the gift. Tonight I gave one of the recipes a shot.

I tweaked the recipe a bit, (don't get too excited, this only happens once in a blue moon), and gave it a bit of an Asian twist. I ended up serving it over white rice, and with chopsticks, and we had a very yummy, very filling meal.



Don't let the numerous ingredients scare you off. I'm a big fan of recipes with very few ingredients. If you look closely, I bet you'll find that most of these are already in your cupboard.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white rice
  
• 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 10-oz package frozen broccoli florets
• 1 small red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces

Directions

1. Thaw frozen broccoli. I put it in a strainer and ran hot water over it for a few minutes. Make sure to pat it dry before cooking.
2. Cook rice.
   
3. In a small bowl, stir together broth, lemon peel, lemon juice, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and black pepper. Set aside.
4. Preheat a large skillet over high heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Stir-fry broccoli and bell pepper in the hot oil for 1 minute. Remove vegetables from skillet.
5. Lower to medium heat. Add remaining oil and chicken. Stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink and almost completely cooked through, about 5 minutes.
6. Add lemon mixture to the skillet. Cook and stir until bubbly and thickened, about 3 minutes.
7. Cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
8. Add vegetables, and stir until coated with sauce.
9. Serve the chicken/vegetable mixture over rice.

Just so you don't all think I've up and abandoned this new blog already, I'm heading out of town for the next few nights for work, so I probably won't have another recipe to post until at least Tuesday. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Arroz con Pollo (Chicken with Rice)

Here's my first recipe! Arroz con pollo is a very traditional Mexican dish, and came up a lot in my classes while I was teaching Spanish. I had never tried making it though until a few weeks ago when I pulled out an old Mexican cooking book that I had bought Jim for our first Christmas together when he was on a huge Mexican food kick. I love this recipe because it is made from all natural ingredients, nothing comes from a can, and its super easy to make.

Ingredients

• 1lb chicken breast
• 3 tsp olive oil (I always use a little more than that)
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup white rice
• 3 tomatoes, cut in chunks
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp sald
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add chicken. Cook chicken until white all over, do not cook through.
2. Remove chicken and add onions, garlic, and rice in juices. Saute over medium heat until light brown.
3. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
4. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
5. Return chicken to skillet and lower heat.
6. Cover and simmer about 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Add water if needed to keep rice moist.
7. Serve hot and enjoy!

I've never had to add water to the rice, but just keep an eye on it while it simmers. The end product should be pretty heavy and moist.

Source: Mexican Cooking Made Easy

Welcome!

Welcome to my food blog! I look forward to sharing recipes of yummy dinners, appetizers, desserts, and more!

A little background about me and my cooking experience first however. I have not always been versed in the kitchen. In fact, if you had asked my family or friends even three years ago if I could cook dinner they would have laughed so hard that they'd end up on the floor rolling over themselves. So what happened? The basic truth is I met my husband. Having someone to cook for made it so much more interesting. I couldn't wait to try new recipes and see if they got the thumbs up or down from my food-loving significant other. With Jim, if it gets a thumbs up, its good.

Last summer Jim was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Before then I cooked quite a bit, but since then I have really taken to finding a lot of new, heart healthy recipes. On average I try 3-5 new recipes a week, so I decided it was time to share them. I do not promise that all of the recipes in this blog will be healthy, (I'm known to make a mean whoopie pie), but I do promise to share with you the nutritional information when it is available so that you can make your decisions based on your nutritional needs.

I will also say that most of these recipes are not made up by moi. I can create crafty things from scratch like its my job, but I'm still learning how flavors come together. I will do my best to link to whatever site or recipe books each dish comes from.

Finally, if you do try something, please comment on it! I'd love to hear what people think of the dishes, and its always good to see how others made it their own.

I hope you all enjoy the blog as much as I enjoy writing in it. Thanks for your support1