Who said that gourmet food had to weigh you down? For the part I edition of my new cooking foray as a step into a healtheir lifestyle, I decided to take a detour from my Southern roots and the accompanying "deep fry" methodology this lifestyle purports. Now don't be fooled by this gal's retreat into Fresh-ville; there are places for smothered chicken and deep fried crab and crawfish monica drowning in cheesy goodness, but if ya want to be a "Skinny Bitch", you gotta eat like one. Introduce: California fare with a twist- Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa and a side of saffron rice. I let the walkin' do the talkin' as I whipped up an indelible entree sure to solicit many ooh's and ahh's, and with just the minimal amount of damage. Who knew eatin good in the neighborhood could be so easy? My waistline is thanking me right now.
For the salad, I used 1 whole avocado, 1/4 of a red onion and a fresh plum tomato, all chopped fine.
A couple squeezes of lime juice, some S & P, and you've got yourself a winner. I used the Whole Foods sea salt variety and some fresh peppercorns.
Now on to the real piece de resistance: the saffron rice, which when served with any main dish, makes any set of taste buds dance the jitterbug. I found these delicate threads at Whole Foods, which for that entire amount seen above, came at a nice chunk of change- $10 bucks to be exact. Known to be the most expensive spice in the entire world, they were worth every bit their weight in gold. I crushed mine and soaked them in some low sodium chicken broth to bring out the flavor and color in the rice dish.
This is the Basmati rice I picked up at an International Market. PAM was kind enough to make her debut at just a fraction of the calories- no oil needed.
A little bit of diced onion, the crushed saffron threads, a few cups of chicken broth and a few cloves of crushed garlic later, we were all set. I cooked this on medium for about 25 minutes.
Now on to the chicken: this easy and quick marinade was delightfully tasty- just a few tbsp of fresh squeezed lime, a few tbsp of olive oil, chopped up cilantro and a kick of parsley, we were rockin and rollin.
I threw a few halved chicken breasts into the marinade and gave them a good drizzle.
Ahh, the rice. The saffron gave it that amazing color. I fluffed mine up a bit to create a voluminous effect. Call it hairspray for the rice.
I used a grill pan for the chicken. Just heat up, spray some PAM, and you're ready for the chicken to go on. BAM!!!!!!
And finally, the finished product. I promise you that every bite was more delightful than the previous. And
that, my friends, is what good cooking's all about. :)
Every LA girl loves a palm tree.
Sun-kissed.
white sand in alabama!
my louisiana boy's more cali than southern
rolling waves
raccoon eyes.
hunkalicious.
silly billy.
My Pocohontas evening wear
birthday din-din @ Zen
fluffy lil dollops of whip cream in the sky
im sooo excited i just can't hide it!
yah mon
The Hangout is the ultimate hangout
sand dunes
yeah, but i kinda love vinegar, so what?
my lil' table tennis champ
crab shack
sally sells seashells by the seashore
