I am always trying to find recipes that are healthy but not boring. I mean I can only eat so much grilled chicken with a veggie and cous cous! I never knew about the Cooking Light website until I started posting on the WC board. Now it is a great resource for me to find new and exciting recipes that are still healthy. The first recipe I found and tried was Lemon Chicken and Rice with Artichokes. Lucky for me it was a hit with both my husband and I. It is so quick and easy and who can resist a one pot dish? This will definitely be a repeat on our list of weeknight meals.

Lemon Chicken and Rice with Artichokes

courtesy of Cooking Light
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 1/4 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups instant rice (I used brown rice)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese (I left the cheese out)

Heat pan with cooking spray or a little olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, chopped onion and red bell pepper; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in rice, lemon juice, salt, black pepper and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in artichokes and cook 1 minute or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

Okay, so as you can see from the date of my first post, I started this blog a while ago and it hasn’t made it very far since. All of the WC ladies have such great blogs; I kind of became a bit intimidated and thought that maybe I wasn’t cut out for this whole blog thing since I had absolutely no clue how it all worked. I have decided that I am going to get over the fear and do it anyway, lol. I want to be able to share my recipes too. I feel kind of selfish always seeing everyone’s wonderful recipes and ideas without sharing my own. So, over the next couple of days I will be adding the recipes and photos I have been accumulating over the past couple of months. My poor husband has been such a trooper in helping me photograph my dishes (with my stinky camera). I think he is probably wondering how long I am going to continue taking pictures of my food without having a blog, lol.
So without further adieu…….My blog! :o)

I am so excited to start my food blog. I have acquired such a passion for cooking and learning new things over the past few years. My husband was the first to spark my enthusiasm in cooking and then The Food Network took it to a whole new level. I never thought that a cooking network would supply me with countless hours of entertainment. It is one of the only channels I watch anymore. You can imagine my excitement to register for all new kitchen stuff when my husband and I got married this past November. Now if I only had room in our small kitchen to store it all….I can’t WAIT to buy a home and have a big kitchen again!

I am a first timer at this whole blog thing so bare with me as I learn. I think this will be a great tool for keeping all of my recipes archived and a place of inspiration when my hubby and I are having one of those nights where we don’t know what to cook for dinner. We are both very indecisive so you can imagine what a task that can be at times.

Well, I hope you enjoy….I am looking forward to sharing mine and my husbands recipes and learning many more from others.