Salubrious Sunday, they're getting better! #11

I'm really excited about this one! It was good, simple, quick.....all the right components.

Sir Sportsalot wanted to grill the chicken. Not wanting to turn down kitchen help (in any form) of course I agreed. But I wanted something different yet simple.

It was hot.

I was tired.

I thought about marinating the chicken in Italian dressing, but that has been done soooo many times.

Besides, I usually use those Good Season Italian Dressing packets and I was out.

So I looked in my good ole 1958 BHG cookbook for an Italian Dressing recipe and got side tracked looking at all the old timie dressings (confetti dairy dressing? pineapple-cheese dressing?).

But...

No Italian dressing recipe back then. (interesting).

No Ranch either (not so surprising).

So I decided to try the French Dressing (the non-tomato version. forgot pics though...but its still red):

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp paprika

Dash of cayenne

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 cup veg oil

Combine, shake...and use.

So thats what I did...then marinated the chicken with half of it. Nice....tender....and a simple flavor.

Now...the star of this meal was the Saffron Rice (minus the real saffron cuz I'm cheap that way). The recipe comes from my Good Life Healthy Cookbook.

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 3/4 cup chicken stock (fat-free/low salt

4 - 5 saffron threads (or 1/4 tsp powder) I used the safflower that I had bought for the Paella

1/8 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp creole seasoning

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 cups instant brown rice I used instant white rice which was lower in calories

Spray a medium saucepan with cooking spray; add olive oil and heat. Add minced garlic and lightly saute for a minute, then add chicken stock, saffron (aka poor mans safflower), cumin, creole seasoning and parsley

thats one old pot. I won't tell you exactly how old, but it was a gift from my aunt when I turned 21

Bring to a boil, then stir in the rice. Boil for 1 minute, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff rice with a fork. Cover again and let sit for another 5 minutes

As a side, I returned to one of the recipes from my very first Salubrious Sunday; Marinated Tomatoes

All in all, it was a light, refreshing summer meal.

I don't have the stats for my chicken. I used boneless skinless chicken breast so I don't imagine it was very "unhealthy"....if at all. If you want the stats for the tomatoes, click on the link above.

As for the rice...here ya go:

Calories: 126

Protein: 2.5g

Fat: 2g

Cal. from fat: 15%

Chol: 0mg

Carb: 24g

Sodium 136mg

Now here's some very interesting information about Saffron from this cookbook. Some of you may already know some or all of this...but I'm gonna post it anyway for those of us who don't :)

"Saffron is the world's most expensive spice. You can buy it in threads or powder, or in a less expensive "imitation" form such as turmeric. The powder loses its flavor easily and should be bought in very small quantities (that's all anyone can afford, anyway!).

When using the threads, crush just before using. Heat will release saffron's flavor essence, so mixing it with 1 Tbsp. of very hot water and letting it stand for 10 minutes will increase its impact."