You’ve been in class all day, wasted the last hour on Facebook and still haven’t started that paper.
It’s getting to be that time toward the end of the semester when big due dates that seemed so far away are upon us, and the last thing on your mind is dinner.
Solution? Fast food. Again.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. As an obsessive Rachael Ray fan, I cook a plethora of 30-minute meals. And that’s the maximum time frame. I believe food should be fun but not necessarily complex.
Nutritious is not synonymous with expensive and can be delicious. Really.
Cooking can be fast, simple, doesn’t always require a special trip to the Baldwin City Market and allows you to control the healthfulness of your meal instead of McDonald’s.
I find comfort in knowing exactly what I’m eating. When you cook with fresh ingredients, you know everything that you are putting in your body is safe. No modified cornstarch, dextrose, high-fructose corn syrup or dimethylpolysiloxane – whatever that is.
I do a lot of cooking without recipes because I like to experiment, and I like to try to avoid the grocery store and play with ingredients I have.
This method of cooking saves me money because I can buy fresh foods at bargain prices without being restricted to the prescribed ingredients in exact measurements on a stack of recipe cards. With a typical college student budget and the additional strain the economy has psychologically put on my spending habits, I am very budget-conscious with grocery spending.
Except I do splurge and cook a lot with wine. We all have our weaknesses.
This is a dish I make for dinner a lot because it’s pretty fast, I usually have everything on-hand, and it’s pretty difficult to mess it up. Not to mention, it’s delicious and guilt free.
I like to serve it up with a little broccoli as well.
If your ID doesn’t work at Callahan’s, or you want to make it more recession-friendly, you can substitute white wine vinegar for the white wine.
Chicken and Rice Bowl with Tomato<br/>and White Wine Sauceand White Wine Sauce
and White Wine Sauce
Ingredients
•2 cups instant brown rice<br/>&#8226; 2 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced• 2 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced<br/>&#8226; 2/3 cup white wine• 2/3 cup white wine<br/>&#8226;1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes•1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes<br/>&#8226;2 tbsp. marjoram•2 tbsp. marjoram<br/>&#8226; 3 cloves garlic, grated• 3 cloves garlic, grated<br/>&#8226; Dash Cavender's salt• Dash Cavender's salt<br/>&#8226;Dash pepper•Dash pepper<br/>&#8226;Extra-virgin olive oil•Extra-virgin olive oil<br/>&#8226; 1/2 tsp. olive oil• 1/2 tsp. olive oil<br/>&#8226; 1/8 tsp. fresh lemon juice• 1/8 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup white wine
•1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes
•2 tbsp. marjoram
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• Dash Cavender’s salt
•Dash pepper
•Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/8 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Instructions
First, make rice according to package instructions. Set aside. <br/>Drizzle a pan with extra-virgin olive oil ("EVOO" as Rach would say) over medium-high heat.&#160; Season the sliced pieces of chicken with a little Cavender's salt and cook all the way through, about five minutes. Add the wine and continue to cook until it reduces by about half (four to five minutes). Next, add the can of diced tomatoes, soy sauce, marjoram and garlic. Cover and let simmer about five minutes. Serve over rice. Serves two.Drizzle a pan with extra-virgin olive oil ("EVOO" as Rach would say) over medium-high heat. Season the sliced pieces of chicken with a little Cavender's salt and cook all the way through, about five minutes. Add the wine and continue to cook until it reduces by about half (four to five minutes). Next, add the can of diced tomatoes, soy sauce, marjoram and garlic. Cover and let simmer about five minutes. Serve over rice. Serves two.<br/>&#160;
Drizzle a pan with extra-virgin olive oil (“EVOO” as Rach would say) over medium-high heat. Season the sliced pieces of chicken with a little Cavender’s salt and cook all the way through, about five minutes. Add the wine and continue to cook until it reduces by about half (four to five minutes). Next, add the can of diced tomatoes, soy sauce, marjoram and garlic. Cover and let simmer about five minutes. Serve over rice. Serves two.