Falafels

Back in July, my mom, sister and I met up with a couple of my aunts and cousins in New York City for a "girls' weekend getaway". I had been wanting to try falafels for a while at this point, and I thought a trip to NYC would surely be the ticket to accomplishing this goal. I knew the street vendors sold them, and saw many doing so on the way to our hotel. However, the one opportunity I had to snag a falafel (the one time we opted to grab something for lunch from the street vendors rather than at a restaurant) there were no carts selling falafels in sight. Only hot dogs.

Fail.

I went home with no falafel in my belly.

But I was determined. I was going to make my own. After all, I had a plethora of fresh pitas just begging to be used. So I found a recipe on one of my favorite sites that was highly rated. And what was even better -- all I needed was chickpeas. I had everything else.

Falafels
Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty. In a food processor, puree onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas. (Processing the chickpeas will result in a consistency that is too thin, so make sure you hand mash those!)

In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Makes: 8 falafels

I switched up the cooking method from the traditional frying to baking instead. Not only does this save on calories, but I think it's a heck of a lot easier, too. No need to wait for the oil to come to temperature. No splattering. Just throw them in the oven and go. Of course this changes the texture of the falafel slightly, but I can live with that.

I served mine with pita bread and tzatziki, although I have later discovered that it's usually served with a tahini-based sauce. Oops, I guess that's what I get for listening to my recipe. Or maybe I just wanted another excuse to make tzatziki.

I think I may have added a tidge too much tzatziki to my falafel as it quickly over-powered the more subtle spice profile. I was expecting a little bit more heat from these, and that can be easily remedied by a bigger pinch of cayenne. I still think I need to try these in an actual restaurant though, by people who know what they are doing. Now I just need to find a place that fits that profile. In Pittsburgh. Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 281	Calories from fat 57
% Daily Value
Total Fat 6.3g	10%
Saturated Fat 0.9g	5%
Cholesterol 23mg	8%
Sodium 414mg	17%
Total Carbs 44.4g	15%
Dietary Fiber 10.3g	41%
Sugars 7.2g
Protein 13.2g
Vitamin A 8%	Vitamin C 15%
Calcium 13%	Iron 26%

Whole-Wheat Pita Bread

About a month ago, Adam was invited to an end-of-summer party by a co-worker. First thing out of my mouth, of course, was "What do we need to bring?", fully expecting it to be a dessert. Nope, a side item/appetizer. A side item? Appetizers? Ugh. Not my forte. I let Adam pick this one.

"Tzatziki. We haven't had that in a while." Sure, sounded good to me. My favorite way to eat tzatziki (other than on a gyro), is simply with fresh veggies and pita bread. I didn't want just to provide any ol' pita bread though. I wanted homemade. I knew I had a recipe for it in my reader (yay! cross of another one!) and it seemed simple enough.

The day of the party arrived and I started prepping the tzatziki and working on the pita dough early in the day. Yet it never fails. Every time I have a party or some other engagement to bring goodies for, I am super rushed and mostly forget to take pictures. As was the case here. Those light, fluffy, fresh little round pitas snuck out of the house with nary a photo.

Thus I decided to make these again a couple weeks later. Which meant I got to eat them all. So much better for me. I really hate sharing.

Whole-Wheat Pita Bread
Adapted From: Annie's Eats

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/4 cups warm water (105˚-115˚ F), divided
1 1/2 cups bread flour, divided
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, divided
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

In the work bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, honey and 1/2 cup of water. Stir gently to blend. Whisk 1/4 cup of the bread flour and 1/4 cup of the whole wheat flour into the yeast mixture until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and return the bowl to the mixer stand, fitted with the dough hook. Add in the remaining 3/4 cup of warm water, 1 1/4 cups bread flour, 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, olive oil and salt. Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and let rise in a warm draft-free place, about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.
Place an oven rack in the middle position. Place a baking stone in the oven (if using) and preheat to 500˚ F.

Once the dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten one ball at a time into a disk, then pat out into a 6 1/2 - 7 inch circle. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet or other work surface lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Once all the rounds have been shaped, loosely cover with clean kitchen towels. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.

Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, onto the baking surface (i.e. baking stone, pizza pan, or straight onto the oven rack). Bake 2 minutes, until puffed and pale golden. Gently flip the pitas over using tongs and bake 1 minute more. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining pitas. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes: 8 pitas

During my first go-round with these pitas, I decided to cook them straight on the oven racks as I don't have a baking stone. While they turned out absolutely delicious, they were very wavy and a little hard to flip as I had to reach the tongs down in between the bars to grab the side.

The second time, I dug out a pizza pan that had been buried in the drawer under the oven for years. Guess it was time for it finally to get some use. This made the pitas much easier to flip and prevented the crazy waviness caused by the oven racks. The only downside was I'm not sure they were quite as fluffy as the first ones. Eh, can't win them all.

The thing I love most about these pitas is that they incorporate whole-wheat flour, but they don't end up dense, tough, and dry. Exactly the problem I have with most store-bought pitas. It is so true what everyone says -- once you make these, you'll find out just how easy they are and how much better they are than store-bought, that you will never go back.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 242	Calories from fat 65
% Daily Value
Total Fat 7.3g	11%
Saturated Fat 1.0g	5%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 294mg	12%
Total Carbs 38.4g	13%
Dietary Fiber 1.5g	6%
Sugars 2.3g
Protein 5.3g
Vitamin A 0%	Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 1%	Iron 13%

Pistachio! Pistachio! Cupcakes

Many people don't think of pistachios when they think of desserts. I do. In fact, I happen to love this dessert. It's such a nice switch from fruity or chocolate-y desserts. Definitely something unexpected.

I had been craving pistachios for a while, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to incorporate them into a dessert. Then I made the decision to bring cupcakes down to Cincinnati and I wanted to make three different kinds. I already had the Strawberry Basil Lemonade Cupcakes and the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes so that covered both chocolate and fruity. I opted to go for pistachio flavored cupcakes to round out the flavors (and prayed that no one was allergic to strawberries or nuts).

After much searching, I discovered there are two camps when it comes to pistachio cupcakes. Those based on a boxed white cake mix and pistachio pudding, and those based on real pistachio nuts. I decided to be brave and go for the latter. At least that way I knew everything going into my cupcakes. I chose to go with a cream cheese-based frosting to mimic my favorite little pistachio pie. Mmm so good.

Pistachio! Pistachio! Cupcakes
Cupcakes Adapted From: Annie's Eats
Frosting From: Original Recipe

1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, divided
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
1 pound powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely ground unsalted pistachios

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners, or grease well.

Place 1/2 cup of the pistachios in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground. In the bowl of a mixer, combine the butter, cream cheese and ground pistachios. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually mix in the sugar on medium-low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the flour and salt, and mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners, filling each about three quarters full. Bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Slowly add in the powdered sugar; mix until frosting is smooth. Add the ground pistachios and mix until throughly incorporated. If frosting is too thick, add a tablespoon of milk.

Makes: 16-18 cupcakes

So the big disclaimer on these cupcakes is that they are DENSE. I was so unsure of these guys that they ended up filling the bellies of my soccer teammates rather than going on a long car trip with me. (This is what happens when my taste-tester doesn't get home until 5 minutes before we have to leave for our soccer game.) In the end we likened the consistency to a cornmeal-type muffin.

Don't get me wrong, these aren't bad by any means. Quite tasty and pistachio-y, just not quite your typical light and fluffy cupcake. While the final result wasn't too bad, I think I still have a little playing around to do before I would make these again for other people.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 467	Calories from fat 220
% Daily Value
Total Fat 24.4g	38%
Saturated Fat 13.2g	66%
Cholesterol 95mg	32%
Sodium 381mg	16%
Total Carbs 58.8g	20%
Dietary Fiber 1.1g	5%
Sugars 47.3g
Protein 5.6g
Vitamin A 15%	Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 4%	Iron 7%

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Going into this post I was all about going after how wonderful the marriage of chocolate and peanut tastes. Then I stopped and thought about it. There is no way you can truly "marry" chocolate to peanut butter and vice versa. No, they will forever belong in the swinger crowd. I mean, peanut butter is well known to get friendly with jelly or apples and chocolate... well chocolate might be in a category all by itself. Chocolate gets around. It loves berries and caramel and marshmallows and graham crackers and... well, you get the idea. Chocolate has earned itself a reputation. Which is why a marriage between chocolate and peanut butter would just never work. BUT, when they get together, it's definitely one of those matches made in heaven.

Of course, the chocolate and peanut butter cupcake combination has been around forever. Nothing new. Yet, I don't think I have ever attempted making it. So after seeing a few pop up on my reader, I decided to take the plunge. I went for Brown Eyed Baker's Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting. Yes, I fell for the promise of sinful-tasting peanut butter frosting paired with a moist dark chocolate cake. And right out of the oven, cooled then frosted... it was everything I expected it to be. (Things changed a bit later, we'll get to that after the recipe.)

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Adapted From: Brown Eyed Baker

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder (or Dutch-processed if you can find it)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. (If you are using a non-stick muffin pan, heat the oven to 325 degrees F.) Line standard-size muffin pan with baking cup liners, or grease the pan if you are not using them.

In a medium heatproof bowl, combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa. Place bowl in microwave and heat on defrost in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each, until mixture is melted and smooth. (Or you can opt for the longer, more "correct" method: set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined.) Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together.

Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine (this is the bowl that everything will end up in). Add sugar and vanilla until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.

Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

For the frosting:
In the bowl of a mixer, beat together the butter and peanut butter until creamy. Slowly mix in the sugar followed by the vanilla until mixture is smooth. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

The first time I tried this, it was just the right balance of cupcake with frosting. Okay, maybe the peanut butter was outweighing the chocolate a little bit. I had big plans for these cupcakes. They were going to accompany me down to a little family get-together in Cincinnati over the weekend. So I put these together on Thursday, and they went into a bakery box, ready to be eaten on Friday. After my little taste test post-baking, I thought we were ready to go. When I took a little bite from Adam's late on Friday night, I noticed it was getting fairly dry, especially along the outside. Hmm, that's not good. And when I tried another piece on Saturday -- very dry. That was a bummer. The Strawberry Basil Lemonade Cupcakes had also tagged along with us, but were definitely not plagued by this dryness -- at least not at the same rate.

That was kind of a huge let down. While moist and tasty at first, these go super dry fairly fast. I would definitely make these again if I was serving them that night, but as my stuff usually gets eaten the following day, I think I'm going to keep looking.

The frosting on the other hand. Now that was delicious, and held up well all the way through Saturday night. That recipe I'm keeping around for sure.

For the cupcakes:

For the frosting:

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 430	Calories from fat 263
% Daily Value
Total Fat 29.2g	45%
Saturated Fat 13.7g	68%
Cholesterol 74mg	25%
Sodium 311mg	13%
Total Carbs 38.2g	13%
Dietary Fiber 2.7g	11%
Sugars 26.9g
Protein 8.6g
Vitamin A 11%	Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 6%	Iron 9%

Strawberry Basil Lemonade Cupcakes

Months and months and months ago, Adam and I were enjoying a nice evening out at the Melting Pot with some friends. Nothing too exciting, nothing too out of the ordinary. One of our friends ordered a strawberry basil lemonade to drink (adult version, of course). We all tried it, and yes, it was delicious. I'm usually not a super huge fan of the crazy mixed drinks with herbs and spices and who knows what else mixed in, but this was actually quite tasty. I made a mental note about it and tucked it away somewhere, forgotten.

At least until a few weeks ago. I was in a cupcake mood, but I couldn't decide what to make. I wanted to make something different, unexpected. It seemed like I was constantly relying on my chocolate cupcake as a base, so I wanted to get away from that. Vanilla? Ehh, I wasn't feeling it. Then out of nowhere, I remembered the Strawberry Basil Lemonade from oh-so-long ago. So I perused, then searched, the scoured the internet. Nothing. I found one recipe that was close, but with the flavors in the wrong places. I was on my own.

I found a good strawberry base to work with, tinkered with it a bit, and added some basil. Too much? Not enough? I didn't bother looking for a frosting recipe. I just crossed my fingers and prayed that the lemon juice would be best friends with butter and powdered sugar. And it was, oh but it was. I stood in the kitchen after it was all done and took a bite. First came the lemon, loud and proud. Followed by little hints of basil. Then at the end, the strawberry decides to show up, as if you dared to forget about it. Light and fluffy and not too sweet. I sent them to the office with Adam the next day and he came home with only rave reviews. Apparently people were a little hesitant at first, but afterwards, really enjoyed them. Success.

Strawberry Basil Lemonade Cupcakes
From: Original Recipe

3 sticks (24 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
4 1/2 cups cake flour
5 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries
8 egg whites
2/3 cup milk
5 fresh basil leaves, minced

1 pound powdered sugar
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Juice from 1 lemon (about 2 - 3 tablespoons)
Lemon zest from 1 lemon

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin pans with liners or grease, if using.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the strawberry puree. Don't worry if your batter looks super lumpy or chunky, it will work itself out.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Slowly (SLOWLY) add the flour to the creamed mixture. Once incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 2-3 minutes until once again it looks light and fluffy. (The end result has also been compared to looking like ice cream.)

In a large bowl (yes, bowl #3) whisk together the egg whites and milk. Add to the batter in two or three additions, mixing only enough to incorporate between each. Add in the basil, once again mixing only enough to incorporate throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepare baking cups. Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

For the fosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar. Mix until it has a smooth consistency. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until incorporated thoroughly. If frosting is too thick, add a tablespoon of milk and combine well.

Makes: 36 cupcakes

A quick note about this recipe:

I received many many compliments on the frosting (apparently even from people who aren't huge lemon fans), and I really attribute the flavor punch to the lemon zest. The juice when used alone, kind of says, "hi I'm here", but the zest screams "I'm ready to party!". Go for it. A lemon is $0.79 or so in the store and you're going to use the whole thing. No little naked, skinless lemons left hanging out in your fridge. Just be careful while zesting, you don't want to get any of that bitter pith involved.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 292	Calories from fat 117
% Daily Value
Total Fat 13.0g	20%
Saturated Fat 8.1g	41%
Cholesterol 34mg	11%
Sodium 106mg	4%
Total Carbs 42.4g	14%
Dietary Fiber 0.6g	2%
Sugars 29.7g
Protein 2.7g
Vitamin A 8%	Vitamin C 7%
Calcium 5%	Iron 5%

Quick Toasted Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

Of all the eating places we didn't have in the small town where Adam and I went to college, what we did have was an Imo's Pizza. Imo's set itself apart from the typical Domino's or Pizza Hut by being a true blue St. Louis-style pizza. Thin crispy crust and that awesome Provel cheese, which just gives the pizza a gooey almost buttery texture.

Every time we would go to Imo's it never failed -- Adam always had to get their toasted ravioli. He just could not get enough of it. 10 little raviolis breaded and fried, then surrounded by a moat of marinara sauce. Can't really say I blame him. Needless to say, Imo's does not exist out here, and we rarely make it back to the St. Louis area. Thus, Adam is sorely deprived of his favorite little toasted raviolis. So when I saw breaded and pan-fried ravioli in Cooking Light I knew I had to make these for him.

Quick Toasted Ravioli with Tomato Sauce
Adapted from: Cooking Light, September 2010

2 tablespoons water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 (9-ounce) package fresh cheese ravioli
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 (15.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

Combine 2 tablespoons water and egg in a shallow dish, stirring well. Combine panko and cheese in a shallow dish, mixing well with a fork. Dip each ravioli in egg mixture; dredge in panko mixture. Place on plate and repeat with remaining ravioli.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of ravioli to pan in a single layer; sauté 1 minute on each side or until golden. Remove ravioli from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and ravioli. Wipe skillet with paper towels.

Lower heat to medium. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Slightly mash half of the tomatoes with the back of a fork. Divide the tomato sauce evenly among 4 plates; top each with 1/4 of the ravioli.

Serves: 4

I switched some things up from the original recipe -- such as mashing the tomatoes and serving the ravioli on top, to make this a little closer to Adam's comfort food. Next time I think I would add a can of pureed tomatoes to thicken the sauce up a bit and a dash of Italian seasoning to really enhance the flavor. And I need to figure out a better way to flip those little raviolis...

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 462	Calories from fat 168
% Daily Value
Total Fat 18.7g	29%
Saturated Fat 3.2g	16%
Cholesterol 71mg	24%
Sodium 805mg	34%
Total Carbs 58.1g	19%
Dietary Fiber 2.6g	10%
Sugars 4.7g
Protein 16.3g
Vitamin A 20%	Vitamin C 24%
Calcium 14%	Iron 11%

Honey Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Every week I sit down, flip through my recipes and cookbooks and come up with some semblance of a meal plan for the week. Well, I try and do this anyways. Usually this works out really well and I'm not stuck trying to figure something out for dinner at the last minute.

Occasionally this backfires a little when there is an abrupt change of plans. Like oh, inviting friends over to dinner in the middle of the week. Don't get me wrong, I love to have people over for dinner, but I don't typically like to serve first-time meals to them. If it's my family, sure, they can be guinea pigs. Friends, it's a little different. I want to make sure whatever it is I'm feeding them is good, because, you know, I'd like them to come back after all.

However, I decided to take a chance with this recipe. All the ingredients were familiar and seemed like they should work well together. I guess sometimes risks pay off. It was delicious. Sweet with a little bit of bite from the ginger. Not to mention fairly easy to pull off.

Honey Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth, divided
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon oil
4 cups washed baby spinach

Place chicken in a medium bowl. Season chicken with garlic powder, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine remaining tablespoon soy sauce, 1 cup broth, cornstarch, honey, and ginger; set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the rice and remaining 2 cups broth to a boil. Cover and lower heat to medium-low for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, recover and let sit for 5 minutes.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Stir in baby spinach; cook 1 minute, or until wilted. Stir broth/cornstarch mixture, then add to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened and translucent. Serve chicken and spinach over rice.

Serves: 4

After our success with the meal the first time around, I decided to make this again a couple weeks later to get some pictures. And I promptly forgot to make the rice with chicken broth. I think that one little step makes a huge difference in the overall flavor of the dish. So don't miss it! Other than that this meal is quick and easy and makes a nice light weekday dinner.

We served this with Sichuan Green Beans, which complemented the meal quite nicely.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 478	Calories from fat 110
% Daily Value
Total Fat 12.3g	19%
Saturated Fat 2.9g	14%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 101mg	34%
Sodium 1204mg	50%
Total Carbs 51.2g	17%
Dietary Fiber 1.6g	6%
Sugars 9.3g
Protein 38.6g
Vitamin A 57%	Vitamin C 15%
Calcium 6%	Iron 25%