Chicken, Rice and Cali Mix

This meal shows up so frequently on my menu it's a staple in this house! It's true I decide how to cook my chicken on the day we're having it. I ended up being pressed for time due to teacher interviews and an incredibly obstinate toddler (how one so small can have so much to fight about I'll never know!) So today I used Knorr's herb soup mix in my rice and over my chicken. This would probably work well as a marinade with white wine or vinegar. I will try that out next week and see how it works. Once again I baked the rice and chicken in the oven altogether. 2 cups water, 1 cup rice, 4 tablespoons of the dry Knorr soup mix (3 in the rice water, 1 over the chicken) and baked at 375 for 40 minutes, until the chicken tested done on a meat thermometer.

We use California Mix frozen vegetables frequently, too. It's a nice blend and steams well in the microwave. I use a large serving bowl which I cover with a lid or a plate and steam for five minutes, stir, and steam some more if needed. I then add a handful of shredded cheese (about 1/2 cup when serving five) replace the lid and let the cheese melt. Amazing what a very small amount of cheese will get a child to eat! All my kids love this vegetable mix. The veggies are al-dente so I know they've retained most of their nutrients and while the cheese adds fat as well as flavour it's not much with a fairly low-fat meal.

While I would prefer to have the apple pancake and smoothies tonight as I still am craving a very light meal after the dense chalupas yesterday, I will go ahead and make the chicken veggie cobbler. I am going to make two small casseroles tonight and freeze one of them for another day.