Utilizing the ol' Microwave

Although microwaves are pretty popular, I rarely use mine. Maybe once a month or so... possibly because I have it on the bottom of a cart in my kitchen out of the way, or possibly because I love my gas range... who knows. Either way, it never occurs to me to use it and I almost took the stove top route when making this dish, but decided to give the microwave a try and follow the instructions. It came out great, and I had time to watch some TiVo'd stuff while it cooked.

Microwave Green Chile-Chicken Risotto

2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup arborio rice
1 (14 oz.) fat free low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water (divided)
1 (4.5 oz.) can green chilies, drained
1 1/2 cup chopped roasted chicken
1 cup shredded reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbs water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine the butter, onion, rice, brother and 3/4 cup water in a 2-quart microwavable dish. Cover with plastic wrap, and vent.

Microwave on high for 15 min. Stir in remaining 3/4 cup water, cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Stir green chiles and chicken into rice and let stand for 5 min. Uncover and stir in cheese, 2 TBS water, salt and cilantro.

Source: Cooking Light

Cleaning out the Fridge Fried Rice

We've had a busy weekend with no time for grocery shopping! Ok, well we probably had a lot of time for grocery shopping, but chose to be lazy. We kicked off our fun 4th of July weekend by attending a Tom Petty concert with my parents on Thursday night. I even caught Mom & Dad singing along and dancing a few times! For the 4th, we went to a cookout at our friends, the Stones. As always it was a great time with lots of great food. We had planned on heading downtown to see the fireworks, but after driving down and seeing that parking could be an issue, and both of us being downright tired, we headed home. Much to our surprise, our backyard neighbors had closed off their block and were putting on a professional show of their own. I'm sure it was highly illegal, and I cringed every time I watched ashes fall towards my roof, but the fireworks were amazing. On Saturday, Ali and I rode our bikes into Broadripple Village for lunch at La Piedad. It is so great to live in the heart of a city near so many cute shops and restaurants. If you've never been to Broad Ripple, come check it out! Saturday evening, Scott and I headed back up to Verizon Wireless Music Center to see John Mayer. (my 5th time!-yes I'm a huge fan) Sunday morning we headed out for some of the city's best biscuits and gravy at Taste Cafe & Marketplace, also in our neighborhood. We wrapped up the weekend by setting off fireworks with Scott's cousin Bill's family.

So back to my non-grocery shopping laziness...tonight I cleaned out the freezer, pantry, and fridge to create some fried rice. It was great, and you can mix it up with any ingredient you have on hand.

Clean out the Fridge Fried Rice

1 chicken breast, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 egg
1 cup frozen corn
1 medium white onion chopped
1 roasted red pepper chopped
4 cups white rice (cooked)
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste

Scramble the egg in a large skillet, then set aside. Season and saute the chicken, and set aside. Add about a tablespoon of oil to the skillet and saute rice and veggies until veggies are tender. Add desired amount of soy sauce while cooking. Add all ingredients back into the skillet and toss.

Food on Sticks!

I love grilling out! It is by far my favorite way to cook. As soon as the snow has melted off and it is officially springtime, I fire up the grill. Tonight we had grilled chicken and veggie kabobs over cilantro lime rice with tortilla chips and mango salsa. I love using a lot of fresh flavors to cook, and it makes it seem like we are that much closer to summer!

Mango Salsa

1 mango - peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a medium bowl, mix mango, red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and lemon juice. Cover, and allow to sit at least 30 minutes before serving. (Note- if mango isn't very ripe, add 1 Tbs of sugar to the salsa)

Source: Allrecipes.com

Grilled Chicken & Veggie Kabobs

1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons prepared coarse-ground mustard
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 red onion, cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, cut into square pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into square pieces

In a large glass bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate 4 hours or longer.

Before assembling the kabobs, sauté the peppers and onions in a skillet over high heat with oil until they are still crisp, but tender. Salt & Pepper to taste. You can skip this step, but I don’t like to over cook the chicken and want to make sure the veggies are thoroughly cooked.

Assemble the kabobs, and cook over high heat on the grill until the chicken is cooked through.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup cooked white rice
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 tsp salt

Cook rice as directed, I used a boil-in-bag rice packet. Mix in salt, lime juice, vegetable oil, and cilantro.

Source: Qdoba

A fesitve side dish

The other night I made some chicken fajitas, just your average chicken, peppers, & onions seasoned with a packet of fajita seasoning mix. I decided to get creative and make some spanish rice with things I had on hand, and it it turned out great!

Crista's Spanish Rice

3 Cups cooked white rice
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
½ teaspoon minced garlic clove
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook rice as directed. Sauté the onion, celery, peppers and garlic in butter over medium high heat in a sauce pan until tender. Add chili powder, cumin, and can of tomatoes. Mix cooked rice into vegetable mixture and salt & pepper to taste.