My Cuisinart has really been getting a workout the last few weeks! I'm normally not one to grab my food processor to make sauces, (I actually rarely ever make any kind of sauce other than salsa or a simple skillet sauce) but lately I've been discovering the simplicity of good healthy sauces and how much they can flavor a dish without adding extra unwanted sodium. I am one of those people who salt everything. I'll sprinkle it on my food before ever even trying it. It's a bad habit and one that I'm working on! I found this recipe in the DASH diet cookbook and then tweaked it to fit the idea for dinner I had last night. Okay I tweaked it a lot...like the only thing I used was the actual sauce itself. I ended up making a type of chicken and rice and then put the sauce over everything. It was amazing and my husband and I both loved it and will definitely make it again! Enjoy!

Chicken with Jalapeno Cilantro Cream Sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 30 min. | 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup long-grain rice (not instant, either brown or white)
2 cups water
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cayenne
2 jalapenos, ribbed and seeded
1 cup cilantro
1 garlic clove
Juice of 1 lime
1/3 cup mayo (regular, no Miracle Whip here)
1/2 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions:
Salt and pepper chicken breasts and cook in preheated, nonstick, skillet. When chicken is cooked through, remove from skillet. Add the uncooked rice directly to the skillet. Stir around and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to slightly brown. I always smell a nutty flavor coming from the rice when I cook it this way and I know it's good to go. Add water and chicken bouillon to the rice and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Leave covered and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until rice is cooked and fluffy.

Meanwhile, make the sauce! Into your food processor or blender, combine the jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice, garlic clove, mayo, sugar, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Taste it and see if you may need more salt or pepper. When you have it how you like it, set aside.

When the rice is finished cooking, stir to fluff. Then add the cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper. You may add more or less of any of these depending on your particular taste. We like our food to have a little spice. Stir all of that together, then add the chicken back to the pan to warm. Cover and let sit for another 5-10 minutes. When everything is warmed up, plate the rice, put chicken on top and then drizzle the sauce over everything. Dig in!


This has now become a condiment of its own in our house. I've made it numerous times and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and we use it on everything! My husband eats a lot of chicken with brown rice, or ground turkey with brown rice now that he's training with my trainer and has a specific eating plan. Those combos can get old and bland, so he uses this sauce and it makes it all go down a bit easier!

Note: next time I'm going to make it with plain Greek yogurt instead of mayo to take out some unwanted calories and fat.