bon appetit... or not so much

I love me some Julia Child. I also love her butter laden dishes and pastries. I need to change that. So, yesterday evening I attempted cooking a healthy makeover version of chicken and rice. Looks pretty good right? Chicken, rice, and some veggies? Wrong. I must say, this is a chicken and rice fail. First of all, I have never been the biggest fan of this dish, so I'm not sure why I thought it would be even better with 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup, and brown rice. It took almost an hour and a half to bake to get the rice really tender, which is valuable time that I don't have. Try if you dare, and here's to hoping yours tastes better than mine:


1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (98% Fat Free)
1 cup water *
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice (we used brown)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)

Stir the soup, water, rice, paprika and black pepper in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with the chicken. Season with additional paprika and black pepper. Cover the baking dish.
Bake at 375°F. for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender.

*For creamier rice, increase the water to 1 1/3 cups.

Fortunately not all was lost with dinner. We also had a cute little vegetable medley. See those green things that kind of look like peas? They're not peas, they're infamous edamame! Up until yesterday, it was something I had only seen and heard on episodes of Chopped on the Food Network! They're little baby soy beans that don't taste too shabby, and also are a good source of protein! (Matt might disagree with the whole tasty part, to quote, "Boo little edamame, boo.")


For dessert I had a skinny cow dessert sandwich. Ice cream that's not bad for you, need I say more?