Salsa Verde Chicken and Mexican (Cauliflower) Rice
 

I made this tonight using several different recipes as inspiration. It came out amazing. Especially the "rice". I still cannot believe cauliflower could be made to taste so much like rice. Anyway, here is the recipe I came up with:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/108397533/...uliflower-Rice

Low Carb Mexican (Cauliflower) Rice

1 head cauliflower (Publix actually had orange colored cauliflower which I bought because I figured it would look better since I was making in into Mexican “rice”).
3 garlic cloves
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 green onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chicken broth (I used “Herb Ox” Sodium-Free instant chicken bouillon because it was the only no-sodium option for chicken broth I found. It comes in a green and yellow box with a 8 packets of bouillon that you mix with hot water. If you don’t have a sodium restriction, you can use any kind of chicken stock you want.)
1/2 cup salsa (I used Sabra homestyle medium salsa because that is what I had in my fridge… and it was very good in the recipe. It had nice big chunks of tomato.)
2-3 teaspoons ground cumin
Dash of chile powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt. (I used Morton’s Lite salt, which has ½ the sodium of regular table salt and tastes the same. Again, if you don’t’ have a sodium issue, you can use regular salt.)


Directions:

1. Grate head of cauliflower to the texture of rice. Use the larger grate of a cheese grater. (You can pulse it in a food processor, but there is a chance that you might over-process it and it will come out the consistency of couscous. I’ve done that before).

2. Put grated cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 5 minutes. Put aside.

3. Chop the garlic, onions, green pepper, and green onion.

4. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan.

5. Sauté the vegetables together until heated through.

6. Add the cauliflower and the chicken stock and lower the heat, stirring often.

7. Add the salsa and spices and cook over low heat until the broth burns off and the mixture is texture of cooked rice.

8. Adjust seasonings to taste. (I didn’t really measure what I used. I kinda just sprinkled stuff in the pan. So I had to estimate the measurements to write up this recipe).



Chicken in Salsa Verde

4 chicken breast fillets
2 tbs olive oil
2 cups salsa verde. (I used “World Table” brand “Roasted Salsa Verde” which I found at Walmart. I’m not sure if it is a store brand or not.)
1 cup chicken broth. (I used “Herb Ox” Sodium-Free instant chicken bouillon because it was the only no-sodium option for chicken broth I found. It comes in a green and yellow box with a 8 packets of bouillon that you mix with hot water. If you don’t have a sodium restriction, you can use any kind of chicken stock you want.)
3 garlic cloves (minced fine)
3 tablespoons cilantro (minced fine)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste. (I used Morton’s light salt, which has ½ the sodium of regular table salt and tastes the same.)

Garnish
1/2 cup Fage Non-Fat Green Yogurt. (Tastes just like regular sour cream).
2 green onions (green part chopped)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan.

2. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and cook over med-high heat turning once, until both sides are well browned, but chicken is not quite cooked through. (You want to have the chicken finish cooking in the salsa verde.

3. Remove chicken from the pan and keep warm.

4. Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté. (If you need to, add a little more oil.)

5. Once the garlic is a nice golden color, put the chicken broth into the pan and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

6. Then place the salsa verde, cilantro, and cumin into the pot; bring to a boil.

7. Just as the sauce begins to boil, reduce the heat to obtain a slow simmer. Add the chicken breasts back into the sauce and spoon sauce over each piece of chicken.

8. Continue to cook until chicken is cooked through and tender (The time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken and how long it was cooked when you browned both sides. It should simmer in the sauce for at least 5, maybe 10 minutes).

9. Place chicken on a serving platter and spoon sauce over each piece.

10. Top each piece of chicken with a tablespoon of the non-fat Greek yogurt and sprinkle some chopped green onion over the yogurt.

This sounds yummy! I love cauliflower and never thought of making it as "mexican rice." Thanks for the recipes!

These recipes sound great! I'm going to try them soon. :o)