Almond Chicken and Mushroom Rice

Years ago, a friend invited us to dinner and prepared us this fabulous meal.  I got the recipe and it was immediately added to our regular menu.  What more can I say except that these are wonderful recipes.

I am horrible at timing, I often have a cold main dish while I am trying to prepare the sauces or sides… so for those of you like me… Timing tip:  brown rice takes a very long time to cook.  Prepare the rice first and put it in 1 hour before putting the chicken in the oven.

Mushroom Rice 

1 Cup Brown Rice

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup celery finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

2 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup water

1-2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp dried parsley

sautee rice in butter for 2 minutes, until golden brown.  Add celery and onions, cook and stir 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms, cook and stir until celery is tender.  Transfer to a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.

Stir in broth, water, soy sauce and parsley.

cover and bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid  is absorbed.  Add water during cooking if needed.

ps. I often save time by throwing the mushrooms onions and celery into a food processor rather than chopping them by hand.  I also like having the mushrooms throughout the rice rather than big chunks.

Almond Chicken

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp butter, melted, divided

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

6 chicken breast halves

1 1/2 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup dried whole wheat bread crumbs (or seasoned whole wheat flour)

3/4  cup sliced, toasted almonds

Put flour in a bowl.  In a separate bowl combine butter and seasonings.

Coat chicken with flour then with butter.  Arrange coated chicken in a 3 quart baking dish.  Pour cream around chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

combine bread crumbs (or seasoned flour) with remaining 1 Tbsp butter.  Sprinkle  bread crumb mixture over chicken, top with toasted almonds.

bake uncovered an additional 5-8 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!