Spanish Rice

So, I have to admit - when I'm in a pinch and need to make a side dish, I will often fall back on good old Near East rice or couscous. The truth is, their mixes are really good, so why would anyone want to make anything but that? (some people don't...) Of them all though, their Spanish rice mix is the king. I've always wondered what's in the spice packet they include with them, but never bothered to really try and figure it out.

Well, until recently, that is. I was determined to either replicate Near East's mix or top it. When done right, Spanish rice is extremely flavorful and I often cannot stop myself from several more helpings. So, I set out to do it - but the challenge to myself was, I would not look at the ingredients or any other recipes for Spanish rice for this. This time, I was on my own.

You'll notice there aren't any particularly authentic Spanish ingredients (such as adobo, sofrito, etc.). That's mainly because I don't have them in my kitchen. But also, I was curious to see how close I could come with only basic kitchen supplies.

In the end, this rice does taste different from the Near East version - but I still think it's a great homemade version of Spanish rice, and it was definitely a delicious challenger to the classic standard. As expected, I could not keep myself from having several servings.

A homemade variation on the classically boxed dish

Spanish Rice

2 cups white basmati rice
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 can corn kernels, drained
3 tsp smoky Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp onion powder
1-2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp cumin
2 heavy pinches salt
Pepper to taste
2 cups water
1-2 tbsp. oil for sauteing.

1. Pour oil into a pot and coat the rice with it. Saute the rice for a couple of minutes.

2. Add tomatoes and corn to pot and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add spices, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly till well coated. Add water, and bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 20 min.

Serves 6-8. Unless you are serving me. Then it probably serves 2 or 3.

Beta Recipe: Cornflake Chicken with Corn Sauce

I came up with this chicken recipe a couple of months ago when (as usual) my pantry was not well-stocked enough and all I really had on had were some onions and a can of corn. I made it and I liked it but I put way too much consomme mix in, and it just dominated the sauce. So, this was primarily another shot at the recipe with the seasonings mellowed out a little bit.

The sauce was not bad, but it could have used a little more flavor from something else, and definitely some more color besides just the yellow of the corn.

The biggest problem I had with the chicken this time though was the texture. Just like the last time I made it, the coating was mushy, and I'm not sure it was flavorful enough. The cornflake crumb mush just slopped off the chicken with the corn sauce, which was extremely unsatisfying. I found myself eating this mass of cornflake globs with the corn sauce...the taste wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the kind of thing I'd be prepared to served to a large crowd.

Here's what I would change: I would add another vegetable to the sauce, possible diced tomatoes, as well as maybe a green bell pepper (or even jalapeno possibly). I kind of want it to be more of a salsa than a sauce, and maybe give the dish a little more of a Mexican flair.

I would also definitely change the primary cooking method of the chicken. Baking it covered just plain didn't work. Baking it uncovered without the sauce first might be a step in the right direction. Another step might be to bake it uncovered on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet, to allow both sides of the chicken to crisp up. But really, my gut feeling tells me this chicken is meant to be sautéed. A preliminary experiment with frying the leftovers definitely yielded better taste, but it was too late to see the effect it would have on the texture since it was already cooked. I'm pretty confident though that frying the chicken first will crisp it up nice and golden brown, and then cooking it with the sauce might be the right way to do this.

So, try this beta recipe at your own risk, or even better, improve it and let me know how you fixed it up!

This could've used a crisper texture and more color...

Cornflake Chicken with Corn Sauce

For chicken:
4 chicken breasts
1 Tbsp fat-free mayo (such as Smart Beat)
2 Tbsp mustard or prepared mustard sauce (I used SanJ tamari mustard sauce or a chipotle mustard)
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp. Billybee honey garlic spice (or just use garlic powder and a little bit of honey)
1 cup corn flake crumbs

For sauce:
2 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (11 oz.) can of corn
2 tsp marjoram
2 tsp coriander
1 cup white wine
1 Tbsp. chicken consomme mix (such as Osem brand)
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Mix mayo, mustard, paprika and honey garlic spice together in a small bowl, and lay corn flake crumbs out on a plate. Dip chicken breasts in mayo-mustard sauce till well-coated, then coat in corn flake crumbs. Set the chicken breasts aside in a dish.

2. Saute sliced onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until translucent.

3. Deglaze the pan with white wine, then add corn, marjoram, coriander, chicken soup mix, salt & pepper. You might need to add a little bit of water too if there is not enough liquid in the pan - but no more than half a cup. Cover and let simmer over medium heat until most of the liquid has reduced.

4. Spoon corn sauce over chicken, cover and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until done.

Serves 4.
7 WW points.

Sweet Potato Succotash

So I had some leftover sweet potato from last week's farmer's market. I picked up some fresh apple cider this week too. I was debating what to make as a side dish this week and I was toying with doing my classic herb-apple mashed potatoes, sweet potato style. But then, Thursday night, I went to Supersol and picked up a container of their roasted corn salad and had that with dinner - it was roasted corn and peas, and it was delicious! This inspired me and made me think of trying out a dish I've only heard of - succotash.

Now, like many people, I am of course most familiar with succotash from Looney Tunes' Sylvester Cat saying "S-s-s-sufferin' succotash!" I never really knew what that meant till one day I saw a box of succotash in the freezer section of the supermarket - corn and lima beans.

Of course, lima beans were my arch enemy as a kid - I would always pick them out of vegetables or soup that my mom made. So why would I want to subject my friends (or myself) to the bland and mealy texture of lima beans? Certainly not. I decided take this old-fashioned classic and modernize it a bit - I chose to use edamame (soy beans) instead (they actually came in this amusing Dora the Explorer package). I combined that with my leftover sweet potatoes, since the meal I was going to was a Thanksgiving-themed meal, and I added some other veggies to give it a really bright color. I snuck in my fresh apple cider too which gave it a tinge of sweetness and fleshed out the flavors beautifully!

Bright fall colors, bold Thanksgiving flavor

Sweet Potato Succotash

3-4 ears of corn
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 large/2 medium sweet potato, diced
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp. canola oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup apple cider
~1.5 tsp thyme
~1 tsp parsley
Honey
salt & pepper

1. Shuck ears of corn, cleaning off husk and silk. Soak corn in water while oven preheats to 450 degrees.

2. When oven is ready, wrap each ear of corn in aluminum foil and put on the middle rack. Let corn roast for 20-30 minutes.

3. After corn is sufficiently cooked and golden yellow, unwrap the corn, keeping it in the foil and put them under the broiler for 5 minutes or so until kernels become golden brown. You may need to turn the cobs around a few times.

4. Halfway through corn cooking, saute onion and bell pepper together in oil in a skillet over medium heat until onions are soft. Add frozen edamame and sweet potato. Cook for 5-10 minutes until edamame thaws and sweet potatoes start to soften a little.

5. When corn is done, shock them in ice water to stop the cooking and make them easier to handle. Slice off kernels and add to skillet, along with tomatoes, thyme, parsely, salt and pepper, and mix.

6. Add chicken stock and apple cider, and drizzle a little honey over everything. Raise heat to medium-high, mix well, and continue mixing periodically. Cook until liquid is nearly entirely evaporated, and serve!

Serves 10.
2 WW points per serving.