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I picked this week’s recipe for a variety of reasons.  I was going to pick one of Nigella’s recipies as a kick off to her new show, but they were both kind of heavy: chili with cornbread and a trifle with whipped cream and other bad-for-you yumminess.  For the next few weeks, due to an upcoming wedding where I have to squeeze myself into a tight fitting bride’s maid’s dress, I am going to try to eat a bit healthier.  Therefore, I will try to pick slimmer recipes or modify recipes to cut some calories.  That having been said, this week’s recipe came from the queen of quickness herself, Rachael Ray.

Weekly Recipe Attempt: Chicken in Tarragon Cream Sauce, White and Wild Rice with Walnuts

First off, I love chicken.  It is by far the thing that I cook the most and what attracted me the most to this recipe.  So I took that building block and followed the recipe pretty much to a tee.  After the pot roast disaster (click here to read about the pot roast that ate Orange County), I had to return to my tried and true roots of poultry. 

While the chicken cooked, instead of rice (to make things a bit lighter) I oven roasted some green beans.  I would like to thank Emeril for this idea.  I don’t really like his show, but this was one great idea.  It made the beans all crispy and yummy.  If you have a hard time choking down vegtables, or getting the little ones to eat their green beans, try the oven roasted trick and tell them the beans are actually green french fries.  Just stick the beans in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

It then came to the cream part.  I used some fat free half and half (yes there is such as thing.)  I found mine at Trader Joe’s.  If you don’t have a Trader Joes, or if you can’t find it at your supermarket, try fat free sour cream.  I used what I had on hand.  If you don’t have a bride’s maid’s dress to fit into, by all means use the full fat stuff. 

It was good.  I’m not a huge fan of tomato-type sauces with my chicken, but the balsamic vinegar definitley helped take away some of the tomato flavor.  Go lighter on the vingear than you would think.  When this stuff concentrates, the aroma can hit you in the face like a sucker punch.  Just wanted to warn you.

All in all I give this recipe an 8 1/2.  It doesn’t get a 9, but I think with fat free sour cream instead of half and half, it would.  If anyone out there tries this with the rice, let me know how that turns out.