PROJECT OF THE DAY: Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Rice with Grilled Chicken

At long last, I have returned! Work has unfortunately kept me from experimenting on any new cooking projects. (my pretty little aprons were looking sad just hanging on the wall for so long) But I finally got some free time and was excited to get back into the swing of things! Today's menu started off as many of my other dishes do, by looking what was in left in my fridge that needed to be cleaned out. Today's find was some leftover roasted red peppers (used to make some homemade roasted red pepper hummus!) and some feta cheese. These ingredients immediately called out “Greek” to me...and so a Greek inspired menu was born.

First off, I decided to cook the peppers and the cheese with some rice, sort of something along the lines of a risotto. Here's the recipe for the Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Rice:

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Rice:
(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 roasted red peppers (sliced)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup long grained rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup feta (crumbled)

Directions:
1. Heat water slightly and dissolve bouillon cube in it. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the roasted red pepper and oregano and season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the rice and water/broth and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes
8. Remove from the heat and mix in the feta

Now, I couldn't very well just eat rice for dinner, so I then needed something to go along with the rice. The menu practically put itself together, because I also had some left over chicken breasts and some lemons, and so decided to marinate and grill the chicken as an addition to the menu. I wanted to try and stick with Greek flavors so I decided to marinate the chicken in a mixture of lemon juice, garlic, oregano, seasoned salt, and paprika.

I put the chicken in some tupperware then squeezed the juice of one lemon all over it. Then I chopped the garlic then made a couple slits in the chicken breasts into which I stuffed some garlic. I threw any extra garlic into the container with the rest of the marinade. Then I sprinkled a layer of the oregano, seasoned salt and paprika until it covered the chicken. I rubbed the seasonings into the chicken, making sure to get all sides of it. Then I covered it up and let it marinate. I actually did this the night before so I was able to marinate it overnight. When it was ready, I just threw it onto the grill until it was all cooked through. And it was now ready to be served with the rice!

all plated up!

The rice turned out deliciously. It's texture was perfectly fluffy, not too soft. And thanks to the feta cheese, it had a slight creaminess to it just like a real risotto. The feta also provided a saltiness to the rice that complimented the chicken's citrusy tones beautifully. It was a delightful summer meal perfect for the evening.

all plated up #2 (with some pita chip garnish)