My Latest Obsession

Food. Well specifically recipes. I follow a number of food blogs, have numerous cookbooks and am always looking for a new recipe for dinner. So with that, I have decided that I want to post some of the ones I have tried on this blog. I really like to make things low calorie, so many of my recipes will have that component, but others will just be yummy. Today I am going to post two recipes from this week: spaghetti sauce and a chicken and rice dish. They both were adapted from www.melskitchencafe.com.

Cheesy Skillet Chicken and Rice with Green Beans
*Serves 4-6

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
8 ounces white button mushrooms, brushed clean and quartered or sliced
4 medium garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 ½ cups long grain white rice
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
½ pound frozen or fresh green beans
1 cup shredded sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil is rippling and hot. Carefully lay each chicken breast in the skillet and cook until the chicken is well browned on the first side, about 3-4 minutes. Flip the chicken with a pair of tongs and let it brown on the second side, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Drain all but about 1-2 tablespoons oil from the pan.
Return the pan to medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, scraping the browned bits off the bottom and edges of the pan, until the mushrooms begin to soften and start to brown, about 6-8 minutes. Add the rice and continue to cook until the edges of the rice turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken to the pan and cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the rice is mostly cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the skillet again, brushing off any rice that sticks to the chicken back into the skillet. Cover the chicken with foil to keep warm. Stir the green beans into the skillet, stir the mixture well, cover and continue to cook on low until the beans and rice are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Side note: I use coconut oil because of its wonderful properties, like fat burning, but obviously any oil will do. Next time, I will use brown rice, but I have to find the cooking time adjustments for the lengthier cooking time of brown versus white rice.)

Spaghetti Sauce

(This sauce was absolutely delicious and Mike loved it, but as a word of warning, this recipe makes the biggest pot of sauce I have ever seen! It could a family of 6 for several meals. We ate it for dinner, I gave some away, and I froze two Ziplock bags full of sauce. Whether you half the recipe all depends on how much freezer space you have.)

1 tablespoon oil
2 cups onion, chopped and divided
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 pounds hamburger (at least 90% lean)
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 12 oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 teaspoons dried oregano
3 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 14-oz. can Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 carton fresh mushrooms, chopped fine
2 large zucchini squash, finely grated
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I use Splenda’s brown sugar)
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add 1/2 of the onions and saute until translucent and slightly browned. Add garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add beef and cook until no red is showing. Drain beef completely. Blend up the remaining onions, red pepper, and beef broth in a blender or food processor until mostly smooth. Add mixture to the garlic, onions and beef and stir to combine, cooking for another minute. Add tomato paste and spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring until combined. Add tomatoes, sugar, mushrooms, and zucchini. Stir until combined and add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Fifteen minutes before serving, stir in the balsamic vinegar. The liquid in the sauce will reduce considerably as it simmers.