Cider-Glazed Chicken with Browned Butter-Pecan Rice

I was a little hesistant to try this recipe from MyRecipes because I thought it might be too sweet for Jeff. He doesn't usually like meats with any type of sweet glaze.

This tasted fantastic!

It definitely won his approval, and I definitely plan on making it again!

The glaze had a perfectly delectable taste, and the rice was magnificent. I don't think I'd ever had a flavored rice before, let alone one with toasted pecans in it! I loved the added crunch from the pecans. :-)

Serve with green beans for one delicious meal!

Total: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cutlet and about 1/2 cup rice)

Ingredients

• 1 (3.5-ounce) bag boil-in-bag brown rice (such as Uncle Ben's) I just used regular white rice - prepared in my rice cooker. Nothing fancy, like boil-in-a-bag. Just what I had on-hand at home.
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 pound chicken breast cutlets (about 4 cutlets)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup refrigerated apple cider
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley This is just a garnish, so I left it out.

Directions

Cook rice according to package directions in a small saucepan, omitting salt and fat; drain.

While rice cooks, melt 1 teaspoon butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done.

Remove from pan.

Add cider and mustard to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until syrupy.

Add chicken to pan, turning to coat. Remove from heat; set aside.

Melt remaining 5 teaspoons butter in saucepan over medium-high heat; cook for 2 minutes or until browned and fragrant. Lower heat to medium; add pecans, and cook for 1 minute or until toasted, stirring frequently.

Add rice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well to coat.

Serve rice with chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

Orange Chicken

This past Wednesday for our mutual activity, the Young Women made Orange Chicken together. I found the recipe on Sparkrecipes. It's healthy, easy, and delicious. It did take longer than I'd expected, but I mostly chalk that up too many cooks in the kitchen (especially inexperienced cooks).

Click here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 to 1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (to taste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1/2" pieces
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a small bowl combine orange juice, soy sauce, honey, sugar, orange zest, ginger, cornstarch and pepper flakes. Set aside.

Heat olive oil over med high heat, add garlic cook 30 seconds. Add chicken, sprinkle with salt & pepper, cook for 4-5 min or until no longer pink in center.

Add juice mix. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly, about 1 min.

Serve over rice.

The ghost sister returns with a new recipe!!!

Yes, ghost sister has returned and with her a new recipe! I was at a loss for supper last night. I had a pair of very tasty looking boneless pork chops just WAITING for me to make something splendid out of them. I peeked in my pantry, and voila my muse, my inspiration, peeked over a can of kidney beans. How could a girl resist that sweet golden goodness that is just MADE to be paired up with pork. It is like peanut butter to chocolate....cornbread to honey....orange yogurt to saltine crackers (this MAY or may not be to everyone's liking). Inspiration hit and I started to busily clang around pots and pans. I was feeling like my old self again, my "dinner block" had been tossed to the curb. I am BACK and raring to dust off my hot pads and don my apron again. This is what became of the beautiful pork chops and the lowly can of crushed pineapple. My son really liked the rice especially.

One Skillet Jamaican Baked Pork Chops with Sticky Pineapple Rice

Click here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 Lean Boneless Pork Chops marinated in Lawrys Jamaican Jerk Marinade Sauce
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 small can crushed pineapple
• 1/4 cup brown sugar + 2 tbsp
• 1 tbsp Jamaican Jerk seasoning (I used Spice Islands brand)
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to your tastes

Directions:

Heat olive oil in oven proof skillet. Sear Pork Chops on both sides for a minute or so. Remove pork chops and set aside. To skillet add onion, rice and garlic. Stir frequently until rice is toasted. Add broth or water, crushed pineapple, brown sugar, Jamaican seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Place pork chops on top of rice mixture and cover tightly. Place in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over the skillet. Serve with your choice of vegetable but broccoli is AWESOME! You can easily add 2 more pork chops to this and not alter anything else!

Hope that you enjoy this like my family did!!!

Jennifer The OTHER sister :)

Dinner Last Night: Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe for the Easiest Chicken Enchiladas Ever on my friend's blog. It sounded so good!

But... I didn't have any enchilada sauce. :-(

I was going to go online to find my own, but instead found this recipe for Easy Chicken Enchiladas on Allrecipes.com. It sounded really good, too.

I had to make a few modifications:

• I only had about 2-3 oz of cream cheese, so I added1/3 cup of sour cream as well.
• I used a can of chicken instead of the chopped, cooked chicken breast.
• I had some leftover white beans in my fridge, so used those instead of the pinto beans (I used the same amount of beans as chicken, using the empty can as my measurer).

These turned out to be so delicious! I'll definitely make them again. They are not saucy like regular enchiladas, which I actually kind of enjoyed.

Jeff even liked these so...two thumbs up here!!