Embracing Him

I’m in the process of revising the meals I prepare for my family to ensure we’re not consuming too much saturated fat. In addition to revamping our favorite recipes, I’ve purchased two lowfat cookbooks from the American Heart Association and found some promising lowfat recipes online.

The newest recipe I’ve discovered is for a wonderful lemon rice. We’re big fans of rice, so I made this dish last week. This simple recipe was fresh and fragrant and JT and I both enjoyed it. The lemon zest and fresh parsley brighten the dish and heighten the flavor.

To make sure the recipe was healthy, I used low fat, low sodium chicken broth. Since I didn’t have any fresh garlic bulbs, I used jarred minced garlic which worked just fine. I plan to serve this rice again next week along side Orange Chicken, but I plan to use jasmine rice and add chopped broccolini for additional flavor complexity.

Fragrant Lemon Rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup long grain white rice
2 teaspoons fresh crushed garlic
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
zest of one lemon

Bring stock to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Stir in rice and immediately reduce heat to low. Cover pan and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes, covered. Add the remaining ingredients and fluff with a fork before serving.

Photo: Courtesy of Laundry Broad (Flickr)

This Tuesday, you get three recipes all in one post: Chicken Francese, Rice Pilaf, and Oven Roasted Aspargus. It’s a simple yet flavorful and elegant meal many of our dinner guests have enjoyed.

Chicken Francese:
½ cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless chicken breasts
½ cup white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup butter
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pound chicken breasts thin. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Coat chicken with flour, then saute in butter and brown on both sides. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.

Combine the wine, broth, parsley, salt and pepper, and lemon juice in the same skillet and cook over medium low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly stir in cornstarch until sauce thickens slightly. Place chicken in a 9×13 inch baking dish and pour sauce over all. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. When serving garnish with slices of lemon.

Rice Pilaf:
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chopped onion
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups chicken broth
¼ teaspoon salt

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion in the butter for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Stir in the rice and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. (Rice will begin to brown slightly.) Stir in chicken broth and salt.

Heat until boiling, stirring once or twice. Reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer for 15 minutes and remove from heat.

Oven Roasted Asparagus:
1 pound fresh asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim off the lower ends of the asparagus.

Place oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large Ziploc bag. Add asparagus and toss to coat. Arrange the asparagus in single layer on baking sheet and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 7-10 minutes, turning at least once.