Spiced Chicken and Rice

This has been a crazy week.  Work has been insanely busy and this past weekend was pretty hectic as well.  M and I went over to my parents' house for Mother's Day.  My mother hosted the get together.  We had chicken pot pie, beef pot pie, boiled potatoes, green bean casserole (the old school kind), and this salmon-asparagus tart thing that didn't come out quite right.  My grandmother worked so hard on it and it just wouldn't set.  My contribution to the meal was summer squash and carrots with dill and parsley - my mother's request.  There was also lemon meringue pie for dessert.  It was quite a feast.  M and I then headed over to his mother's house and had more dessert which consisted of Boston cream pie cake.  Mmmm, so good.

The rest of this week has been so busy at work for both M and I.  Even though it is tiring, I would much rather be busy at work.  I also got to see a friend of mine and have coffee.  She stole me away from my desk this afternoon for about an hour and it was so nice to sit outside and chat with a girlfriend.  I need more of that in my life.  Anyway, M and I did manage to get some good meals in and one is pretty noteworthy.  Once again, M found it in a cookbook and wanted to try it.  It intrigued me too and even though there is ginger and curry in it, which aren't always my favorites, I kept a light hand with those spices and I actually enjoyed it very much.  M loves ginger and ever since he discovered pickled ginger, look out.  I needed an easy recipe as well and this was all done in one pot - a tired girl's cooking dream.

Spiced Chicken and Rice

Adapted from The Weeknight Cook by Williams-Sonoma

The original recipe did not include any onion or garlic but I put that in most everything and it was quite a delicious addition.  Also, it called for golden raisins but I chose to exclude them along with the cilantro.  I used parsley instead.

3 tbsp vegetable oil

6-8 boneless chicken tenders, cut into 1in cubes

salt and pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced or grated

1 tsp curry powder

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup long grain or white rice

zest and juice from one lemon

1 cup frozen peas

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup cashews

In a dutch oven or big pot with a cover, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Cook the chicken until it browns on both sides.  Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan.  Saute until they are just becoming tender, about 2 minutes.  Add the ginger and the curry powder and stir.  Cook for about 30 seconds.  Add the broth and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Bring everything to a boil and add rice, lemon zest and juice.  Add the chicken back to the pot along with any juices.  Bring to a boil and cover.  Turn the heat down to about medium-low and let simmer for about 20 minutes.  When there is about 5 minutes remaining, add the peas.  When the chicken and rice mixture is ready to be served, stir in the parsley and cashews.