Quick and Easy: Chicken and Rice Creole

By Thayer Wine
Nashville Tennessean

Creole cooking requires three main ingredients — celery, onion and green pepper. They're known as the "Holy Trinity." They also form the base for a fast and easy creole sauce for chicken.

• 1 cup long-grain rice, cooked and kept warm
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1/2 medium green pepper, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup finely diced onion
• 3 medium tomatoes, cored and diced
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
• 2 tablespoons red wine
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Dice chicken. Set aside. Dice celery, chop green pepper, onion, tomatoes and garlic, set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in skillet; add chicken, sprinkle with pepper. Sauté until no pink is visible on chicken. Remove from pan, set aside.

Add remaining oil to pan. Stir in celery, green pepper and onion, cook over medium heat until vegetables are soft but not brown.

Stir in tomatoes, garlic, wine, thyme and cayenne. Return chicken to pan, cook on medium heat until chicken is done. Serve over rice.

Per serving: 278 calories, 23 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 8 grams fat, 55 milligrams cholesterol, 67 milligrams sodium.