Coconut Jasmine Rice

YOU NEED:

1 cup uncooked Jasmine rice

1 1/4 cups water

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1/4 tsp. salt

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sauce pan; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer; cook 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.  Remove from heat; fluff rice with a fork. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.

Calories: 97 Fat 15g

You can buy any bag of Jasmine rice, it normally just calls for water. But I love to substitute half of the water for Coconut milk to give it more of a creamy taste.

Kung Pao Chicken

Pair with Coconut Jasmine Rice

YOU NEED:

2 tbsps. dark sesame oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breast, cut into bite size/1 inch pieces
3/4 cup water
3 tbsps. lower sodium soy sauce
2 tsps. cornstarch
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. bottled minced ginger
1 to 11/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 large pepper)
1 cup snow peas, trimmed (cut in half if you prefer)
2 tbsps. chopped unsalted, dry roasted peanuts

1. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion to pan; saute' 3 minutes or until softened.  Add garlic; saute' 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add chicken; saute' 3 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.
2. Combine 3/4 cup water and next 5 ingredients (through crushed red pepper), stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves.  Add water mixture to pan; bring to a boil.  Add bell pepper and snowpeas to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce thickens.  Sprinkle with nuts.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Calories: 275 Fat 13.8g

Discovered this recipe from Cooking Light Quick and Easy cookbook/magazine. I have played around with a few Kung Pao chicken recipes, and love this one as it is simple, flavorful and the hubby loves it...so that's pretty successful all around.  I pair this with Coconut Jasmine Rice (recipe above) but you can add to any of your favorite rice or noodles. You can also add additional vegetables of your choice, like baby corn, broccolli, carrots etc. I also will try this again with Shrimp or tofu.