SS and an Ear

Heyo! Guess what I did today? Check it out:
Indeed, I had my cartilage pierced again. It hardly hurt at all, which was surprising. I had it done in the same spot I had it last, before it sneak attack dropped out on me and healed over in about two seconds. Stupid thing. Anyway, the woman who did it for me was very nice and did a good job. Thank you, Piercing Pagoda employee, thank you.

Now the only other things I want is for my hair to grow out really fast and possibly a small tattoo to appear in an unobtrusive place for me to look at it. Miracles, go.

Today, being a Saturday, is a Savory Saturday! An SS, if you will. (No relation to the Nazis.) Once again, I cook from the Cooking Light Complete Cookbook and I made an "All-Time Favorite" called Cilantro Rice with Chicken. It was really good (I was relieved, after my last cooking fiasco. I'm always afraid I'll suddenly become a bad cook, and I'm not sure why...). Doesn't take too long to make and has a really nice and simple flavor. And I love cilantro, so that makes it better. I have to give shout-outs to Tominda's Mom for getting me that blender once upon a time, it was instrumental in making the cilantro sauce. Here is the recipe and the pictures to accompany it!

Cilantro Rice with Chicken pg. 321 in "Cooking Light Complete Cookbook"
Rice:
1 tablespoon olive oil

Boil, ya bastad.

2 cups quartered shiitake mushroom caps (I did not use this b/c the Husband and I hate mushrooms)
1/4 cup chopped green onion bottoms
1 (1/2 inch) piece peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces (I used thin chicken breasts, not sure it matters)
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
Sauce:
2 cups loosely packed cilantro leaves
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped green onion tops
1 teaspoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 garlic clove, peeled (I minced mine, not sure the blender could take it.)
Topping:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons chopped green onion tops
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

I'm plucking cilantro.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. To prepare rice, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms and next 3 ingredients; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in rice, cumin, and chicken; cook 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups broth; bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand, covered, 10 minutes.
3. To prepare sauce, place cilantro leaves and next 5 ingredients in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Stir into rice mixture. Discard ginger piece.
4. To prepare topping, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add tomatoes; cook 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons green onion tops. Place rice mixture in a large bowl; spoon tomato topping over rice. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Calories: 339
Nom Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

I would recommend this, it was pretty nommy!

The finished product. Tastes better than it looks. :)

Me has knife. Urgh.

I gave the Husband one job: take care of the bread. This is a picture of him attempting to mutilate the bread, which apparently translates into "take care of" in the man language. God help me should I ever get sick. (Oh that's funny, you might as well laugh.)