Lemon Chicken and Rice with Artichokes

Happy Sunday! What a fantastic weekend! The first two days of spring have been amazing with lots of sunshine. I am so happy that the cold wintry days are behind us. After running a few errands with the girls today I decided to go to the playground so that Stephanie could run around a bit while Alexandra chased her. I sat on a bench watching while Eva napped in her infant seat.

Stephanie getting a push from Alexandra


Wheeeee!


Shhhhh....don't wake the baby


I came across this recipe on the Cooking Light website a while back and finally decided to give it a try. It was very easy to make and after a long day with the kids this is exactly the kind of recipe that I was looking for.




Lemon Chicken and Rice with Artichokes


Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 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
• 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

Directions

Heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken, chopped onion, and red bell pepper; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in rice, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in artichokes, and cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cheese.

My verdict: Not bad. I decided to also add some garlic and a few good shakes of Italian Seasoning. It needed a bit more salt and I think that next time I will squeeze a bit more lemon on top when serving. But we all really liked it and this will definitely make it into the dinner rotation.