New Recipe: Lemon-Broccoli Rice with Chicken

Since announcing that one of my goals this year is to make at least two new recipes every month I have been in search new recipes. I have a cookbook addiction so I've been looking through those and I've come across a few but nothing that got me too excited. What I really need are easy weeknight friendly meals. And I found one!

I'm a sucker for those signs at the grocery store that scream "NEW ITEM!" especially when it's in the cream cheese section. Those lovely people at Philadelphia that have stolen my heart already (who can't eat cream cheese with spoon?) have come out with cooking creme. Can I just say: What took so long?? Because they were a new item they were on sale AND attached to the lid are - you guessed it - recipes! I decided to buy two flavors so I'll post about the next recipe I make too.

Monday I decided to make Lemon-Broccoli Rice with Chicken (recipe can be found HERE). It looked easy and it also looked like I wouldn't hate myself when I got done eating it. And it was both! Start to finish it took 30-40 minutes and I had a good sized portion and was full but I didn't feel gross. I was uncertain about the combination of the garlic and lemon but I didn't really taste the garlic and I thought the recipe was delicious! Husband didn't go crazy over it, he said it was "missing something". He thinks it needed some crunch.


Small ingredient list, I love that



Cooking the chicken and garlic



Mmmm...almost done!

 

I have been fun of for my use of boil-in-bag rice but I stand by my choice! I love boil-in-bag rice and not only do I not have room in my kitchen for yet another gadget, but I have no desire for a rice cooker while this stuff is still on the market.




Finished product!

As I said, Husband was not wild about this dish but he did eat it. I had thought it would be more up his alley than mine but I guess it's the other way around. I will definitely make this again and I look forward to making another of the cooking creme recipes.

Notes/Suggestions:

• The recipe calls for oil which I didn't realize I was missing. So I used a tablespoon of margarine in it's place and I thought it worked out fine.
• The recipe calls for 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips. I used a pound of the thinly sliced chicken breasts and I thought the size was perfect!
• My lemon was on the smaller size and didn't produce enough zest (I got about 1 1/2 teaspoons instead of the 2 teaspoons). I squeezed a little bit of the lemon into the sauce to make up for it but I don't think I needed it. 
• If you're a brown rice person (I am not) then you could definitely substitute that in place of the white rice that is called for.
• I usually tweak recipes when I make them but I am trying hard to make them as the recipe says to at least the first time. This one, when I make it again, I will make exactly the same way (unless husband can come up with his "something crunchy" that it needs).