Cilantro Chicken & Spanish Rice with Red & Green Peppers
I was looking for a recipe to use a lot of cilantro because I had a bunch of beautiful organic cilantro in hand. Not curry since we just had curry. Flank steak with Chimichurri sauce was an candidate. However if so, J's grilling outside would be better than my cooking with a skillet in the kitchen. It was a weekday meal, so there was no grilling option. Fish taco sounded nice, but our local grocery store doesn't have nice seafood. I wished the cilantro would disappear... then, I ran into a recipe of Cilantro Chicken. It saved me. The recipe was simple, easy to make and preferred by many reviewers. First of all, it called for 1/2 cup of cilantro. Good! I added a little more. I marinated chicken overnight. The recipe grills chicken, but I cooked in a skillet. I was supposed to buy chicken breast, but accidentally bought chicken tenderloins. Oh well, they were leaner and healthier. Better for us! But easy to become unpleasantly dry. So I was very careful not to overcook them. I think I managed it. Spanish rice was super easy because I used a commercial rice box with a spice pack. I pan-sautéed shallots and red and green peppers separately and mixed them in the cooked rice. Simple fresh cilantro-lemon-garlic flavored chicken and red rice with chunky vegetables was a right combination. It was one of my least favorite food items: chicken, but I liked it. So did J!
