Menu for the Week of April 19, 2014

Weekly Menu at One Perfect Bite... 

Frugal Foodie Friday - Old-Fashioned Chicken with Rice

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...There are certain dishes that seem to withstand the tests of time and fashion. This homely, old-fashioned favorite is one of them. Every country that the Silver Fox and I have visited, has a version of chicken and rice. There is something about it that's restorative and it brings back memories of dinner at grandma's kitchen table. It is a simple dish that is easy to prepare. It is inexpensive to make, and if you have never had it, you owe it to yourself to try it at least once. The version I'm featuring tonight was created by Mark Bittman and his recipe makes easy work of its preparation. My only caution is to make sure that the skillet you use is deep enough to hold the chicken without it hitting the lid of your pan. You can change the type of rice, as well as the liquid you use, with no adverse affects. The saffron in the recipe is a completely optional ingredient but it makes an awfully nice addition to this dish. You will have to keep an eye on the rice and the times suggested in the recipe should be taken with a grain of salt. Mine took an additional 20 minutes to cook. This is one of those recipes that is easy to make your own, so don't be afraid to swap or add ingredients that you enjoy. Here is Mark Bittman's version of the dish.

Spinach and Mushroom Salad with Miso-Tahini Dressing

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We are moving today and as luck would have it, it is pouring, as only it can pour in the Pacific Northwest. The movers might very well need an ark to get our furniture from storage to its new home. I don't mean to sound cavalier about it, but I'm so glad this day has finally come that the weather can't faze me. The installers finished the floors at nine o'clock last night and the Silver Fox and I worked for another two hours cleaning the fine pumice-like wood powder from the surfaces it covered. We are as ready for this move as we will ever be. Hopefully, I'll be able to access the internet without a break in service, but on the odd chance there is a problem, I wanted to share this salad recipe with those of you who are still looking for a first course to serve with your Easter dinner. It is fast, easy and economical, but more importantly, this unusual play on a standard spinach salad is also delicious. I do hope you'll give the salad a try. Here is how it is made.

Waist Watcher's Special - Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I hate dieting and the restrictions associated with it. I don't do well with plans and prepackaged meals, so when I pack on pounds, I have to come up with recipes that work for me, but do not scare off the Silver Fox, a committed carnivore, who views most greens and meat substitutes as "stuff". C'est la vie. While I consider these mushrooms to be a main course, he views them as a side dish meant to keep meat from getting lonely on  his plate. That actually has worked out well for both of us. At any given meal, there is at least one dish we can share and it makes creating diet meals a lot easier for me. Over the past three months, I've found or created recipes that make dishes I actually enjoy and I now have a collection of diet-worthy recipes to share with those of you who are also in waist watcher mode. These stuffed mushrooms are the first recipe in what I hope will become a weekly feature on One Perfect Bite. They are easy to make and quite satisfying, though I suspect you will want to add additional herbs and spices to the ingredient mix. I do hope you'll give these mushrooms a try. Here is how they are made.