Thursday, May 31, 2012

Lemon-Herb Rice Salad

A refreshing, herby summer salad!

Ingredients:
2 lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups rice of your choice
2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
2 TBSP packed brown sugar
salt and pepper
*1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 medium red onion - thinly sliced
1 medium carrot - shredded
1 cucumber - seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts or sliced almonds
*1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup fresh cilantro - roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint - roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil - roughly chopped

*optional

Cook rice as directed, adding a strip of lemon zest to the water. Transfer rice to a large bowl and discard zest. Let cool to room temperature.

To make the dressing; Juice both lemons into a medium bowl. Add the vinegar, brown sugar, heaping tsp salt, *cayenne and 1/2 tsp pepper and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in oil. Add the onion slices and let marinate 15 minutes.

Add carrot, cucumber, peanuts and chopped herbs to rice. Add dressing and gently toss. Keep refrigerated.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken


Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa of your choice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup taco seasoning
1/2 cup sour cream

Place chicken in the bottom of crock pot. Sprinkle with taco seasoning. In a bowl, combine soup and salsa. Pour over chicken. Cook on high 4 hours. Shred chicken and serve in tortillas or as desired.

**Allergy-free substitutions:
Cream of chicken soup-make a rue with 3 TBSP butter and 3 TBSP flour over medium-high heat. When hot and bubbly, combine with 1 cup unsweetened coconut or almond milk. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, 1 TBSP chicken granules and garlic powder. Heat until thick.

Sour cream - Tofutti Better Sour Supreme