Chicken with Roasted Pears and Rice

This dish calls for wild rice, something I've never been able to find here.  So I just used a plain short grain rice. This would be really nice served with some sauteed green beans or steamed broccoli.  You will need some craisins/cranberries that we can't typically find here.  I wasn't sure how I would like this, because I normally go for more savory main dishes, but this was really good, and the whole family loved it, especially the kids!  Also, I labeled it 40 minutes or Less, because it's less than 40 minutes of prep time, but 30 minutes of inactive baking time.  From start to ready, it's more than 40 minutes.

Chicken with Roasted Pears and Rice
3 pears, cored and cut length-wise into 1/2" slices
1 1/4 c. apple juice
3/4 c. water
1 cube chicken bullion
1 c. uncooked rice
1 lb chicken breast, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c. dried cranberries, or dried tart cherries
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450F/220C.  Arrange pear slices in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake for ten minutes, or until tender.  Remove from oven, and reduce oven tempt to 400F/190C.

Combine apple juice, water, and chicken bullion in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Add rice, cover, reduce heat, and cook until rice is tender, 15-20 minutes.  Fluff rice with a fork.

Combine rice, chicken, cranberries, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.  Spoon mixture in a a large baking dish.  Arrange roasted pear slices over chicken mixture.  Cover and bake at 190C for about 30 minutes or until chicken is done.  5-6 servings.

Luke liked this so much, he had a very clean plat.  And he wanted a pear slice with cranberries he dug out of the leftover neatly perched on top for dessert. : )

Thanksgiving 2011

We have so much to be thankful for this year!  It's been a great year in South Asia, our kids are growing and are healthy, and God has provided for our family in so many miraculous ways this year.


This year, our Thanksgiving celebration is turning out to be a lot smaller than in years past.  I'm okay with that. : )  We'll have five adults and our kids.  So my menu is pretty scaled down, and I haven't started cooking yet.  That's only because my husband is out of town, but coming back today, and I've not been feeling well.  Hopefully I'll be up to starting tomorrow.

So, this year, my menu looks like this:

-Baked Brie with maple syrup and pecans, crackers for appetizer
-Apple cider

-Roasted Rosemary Chickens
-Grandma's Stuffing
-Baked Winter Squash Gratin (I'm using kaddu)
-Mashed Potatoes
-Bay Scented Lentil and Red Cabbage Salad with Bacon
-Grandma's Yeast Rolls
-Iced Tea

-Pecan Pie
-Pumpkin Pie

This all sounds really good to me, but my only hesitation is that there's nothing really green on the table.  If I have time, I might do some bacon-wrapped green beans.  But I also have to remember that I'm working around a 2-hour morning power cut from 9-11.  That will throw a kink in my planning, I think. : )

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!