I know that its been a while since my last post, I do apologize for absence. I have been thinking of different vegetarian dishes to go along with my blog theme and I found one that you all should enjoy. I came up with this dish because I didn't want to spent a bunch of money on take-out Thai food.
I venture down the ethnic food isle about once a month to look at different sauces and spices that could enhance my dishes. I found this Thai chili sauce in the Asian food section and figured that this would be a good investment. I spent around four dollars and change on a 9.3 oz jar and it lasts for a good amount of time. The great thing about this sauce is that its not too spicy and it adds a nice kick to your dishes with only a tablespoon. The ingredients for this dish are very inexpensive: white rice, baby spinach, chopped garlic, sliced white mushrooms and scallions. One of the highlights of this dish is the amount of time it takes from prep to the table; 25 minutes if that. I cook rice a little differently than most people because I found that my way is quicker and I don't have to worry about the starch of the rice boiling over on the stove. All I do is measure my rice, 1/3 cup per person and serving, and use the 2/1 ratio of water and rice. I leave the lid off of the pot and leave the burner on a medium/high heat. It is always important to season your rice because rice will take on the flavor of the seasoning that you put in it. Make sure that your rice is cooking before any other preparation because it still takes the longest in this dish. While the rice is cooking, heat up a medium skillet with some olive oil or whatever oil that is on hand. Wash and slice your mushrooms and scallions and chop your fresh garlic or use a tablespoon of minced garlic. When the pan is hot, put the mushrooms, scallions and garlic in the pan. It's important to saute the mushrooms first because they take the longest out of vegetables to cook and the garlic will burn if it is in the pan too long. After the mushrooms, scallions and garlic are mostly cooked, add the spinach in the last few minutes along with a tablespoon of the Thai chili sauce. Spinach takes the least amount of cook time and you want to make sure that it still retains some texture. After the vegetables and rice are done cooking, place the rice on your plate or bowl with the vegetable mixture on top.
This dish is quick, healthy and very easy to prepare. Another thing to point out is that this dish will give you the feeling of hunger satisfaction and will not leave you feeling stuffed.
Simplicity is something that I strive for everyday and your meals should follow that as well. You can start preparing this meal within the same hour that you plan to eat it. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and gather my basic spice blend, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. The only extra spice that you'll need is smoked paprika and this adds a nice touch of heat to your meat.You can use any part of the bird for this recipe but I recommend using thighs for a shorter cooking time. Place the chicken in a glass baking pan or on a metal sheet pan. Season the meat and cook for approximately 45 minutes or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. It is important that the meat reaches that temperature; trust me that having salmonella poisoning is not fun. While your chicken bakes, you can prepare your side dishes. I like to prepare a vegetable and a starch; feel free to add or omit one or the other. I love peas so I always have a can or two of peas in my cupboard and those noodles and sauce packages are good to have on hand as well. Normally the noodles and sauce sides take around 10 minutes or so and the peas take around 5 minutes. If you time it right, you can have the chicken and your sides done at the same time.
It doesn't get more basic then that. This whole meal will cost you under 10 bucks and will taste amazing.
