The Frugal Femme

 3rd Post

Good evening everyone!
Sorry I am so late with this post. I had hoped to do the dill chicken packet recipe, but, after much searching, I could not find my recipe. :-(  Doubly odd since I saw it just about a week ago.  So I am giving you another recipe that will work just as well and uses many of the same ingredients. So tonight, I am going to give you my mustard dill packet recipe and will post the other once I find it again.
So, tonight, we will be making Dill mustard Chicken packets, herb rice and salad.

 

Mustard Dill Packets Recipe

Creole Seasoning (to taste)

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard 

1 tbsp. plain Greek yogurt

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tbsp. dried dill weed

1 large chicken breast, cut into two equal pieces

Before I start, this recipe is assuming that the chicken breasts that you have purchased are the large, almost mutant size chicken breasts that you seem to get now when you buy chicken breasts in the frozen food section or packaged for Costco.  If you have normal size chicken breasts, you will need two breasts for this recipe.

            Example of mutant chicken breast compared in size with a regular size cream cheese box. 

1.  Cut chicken into two equal parts, pat dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with Creole seasoning. Set aside for at least five minutes to allow the seasoning to soak into the chicken.

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3.  In a small bowl, combine the mustard, yogurt, garlic powder and dill.

4.  Coat the chicken with the mustard sauce.

5.  Tear off two sheets of aluminum foil that are large enough to wrap each chicken breast  individually.  Spray the side that you are going to put the chicken on with cooking spray. (You can skip this step, but sometimes it sticks and if you do this, it is less likely to do so.)  Place a chicken breast on the prepared foil.  Then you are going to do an envelope fold.  Meaning first you loosely fold the bottom corner of foil over the chicken, cover the chicken completely but not meeting the top corner of the foil.

I know that's not chicken, but I had to fold something. 

Then you fold the top corner down to the bottom of the chicken, again loosely.

                                             Kind of looks like an alien burrito at this point.
Take the side corner and, loosely cover the chicken. 

Then place remaining corner, loosely, over chicken.  This will form a wrap that will keep the temperature in and keep the juice from running into your oven.

                                                                   Well, isn't that tidy?

6. Place chicken packets on nonstick baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

NOTE!!!  Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes once removed from the oven before opening the packets. If you cannot wait, then please be careful when you open the packets as the contents are very hot and steam will come out and you don't want your face or hands to be in the way.

 

Herb Rice

This is a staple in my house and I fool around with variations of it all the time.  I live in Louisiana where rice is considered one of the major food groups.  Before I lived in Louisiana, I hardly ever ate rice and, when I did, it was Uncle Ben's Minute Rice.  I was soon taught the error of my ways and I now almost exclusively cook regular rice in my rice cooker which is also a  staple in every Louisiana home.
I am going to give directions for a rice cooker, but you can do this recipe with a pot with a lid and by following the cooking directions and just adding the ingredients the same as I describe for the rice cooker.

1 cup wild grain rice or white rice

1and1/2 cups chicken broth or stock, low sodium or sodium free  (you can use water, but it won't taste as rich)

1 tsp.  real butter

1/2 tsp. basil

1/8 tsp. rosemary

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder.

1. Place all ingredients in a rice cooker in the order given. 

2. Stir rice with a plastic or wooden spoon.

3. Close rice cooker and cook until rice is done.  (It usually takes the cooker 20-30 minutes.)

4.  Once cooker is done, open lid, fluff rice, and serve with meal.

TIP:  If you rice cooker or pot is not non-stick, add 1 tsp. olive oil at the same time that you put in the butter, both ingredients will help to keep the rice from sticking.

Salad

Since both the chicken and the rice have strong savory flavors, I like to have a sweeter salad with this meal or, I like to go old school and make a chef salad with ranch.

Mix the following  ingredients to your personal taste, adding or subtracting as per your want:

Iceberg Lettuce

Baby Spinach Leaves

Carrot Shavings ( I like to take a potato peeler and just "peel" the apple over the bowl)

Green Onion

Feta Cheese (or cheese of choice, or no cheese)

Dressing

1/4-1/2  cup Zesty Italian dressing (depending on how "dressed" you like your salad)

1 tbsp. honey (you can add more or less as per your preference, but dressing should have a sort of sweet and sour taste)

1.  Put both ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined and dressing is liquid but thick enough to coat the salad when it is tossed.

Toss salad mix with the dressing and serve with meal.

TIP:  This salad is also very good with dried cranberries.

I hope you enjoy this meal!