Chicken Wings Tomato-Beet Casserole

Paraguay - Looking through the grocery stores aisles, the only racks that can rival the sodas and cookies are the tomato sauce displays.  Paraguay must have the corner on tomato processing.  Most sauces come in soft packs or bricks, easy to store and use.  I love tomato sauce because of the lycopene content of cooked tomato.  This antioxidant is only active when cooked, therefore more available in tomato sauce than fresh tomatoes.

The problem I've had with most tomato sauces is that they contain added sugar to balance the acidity of the tomato.  NO MORE!  Here, they sell a tomato-red beet combination sauce.  The sweetness of the beet balances out the acidity of the tomato, with an added bonus of even more antioxidant.  I love it!  If you can't find it in your grocery store, just get a can of cooked beets and process a few slices with your tomato sauce in the food processor.  It's really worth a try!

For a complete meal, I include brown rice in the dish.  Here, we call it "guiso." 

Ingredients:  (serves 3)

- 1 pack of chicken wings, skinless (about 9 wings)

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 2 zucchini, medium

- 3 garlic cloves

- 1 tblsp. olive oil

- 1 sprig rosemary

- 1 pack tomato-beet sauce (or 1 pack tomato sauce blended with 3 slices of canned red beets)

- 1/2 cup brown rice

- 1 cup water

Production:

  In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil, and glaze the onions.  Add the zucchini and garlic, then the chicken and the rice.  Toss until all the rice is glazed.  Add the tomato sauce, water and rosemary.  Cook 30 minutes, until the rice is tender.  No need to add salt: enough in the sauce.


Nutrition Facts: since my other computer is still out of commission, I have to estimate a portion to about 350 calories, more if you load up on the rice, less if you select to eat mostly the chicken and zucchini.  This is a complete meal, with protein, starch, 2 servings of vegetable per portion.


Until next meal

Domino Nini