Cranberry Quinoa Chicken *NOT a simple recipe, but YUMMY

slowturtle1

For those looking for something fancy for a holiday gathering, or something different to do with quinoa, this is a nice dish.

***I modified this recipe A LOT because I didn't have some of theses ingredients and I didn't feel like stuffing the breasts. I've included my substitutions or alterations in parentheses. It is definitely NOT an everyday dish. This makes six servings and with the substitutions I made it came out to 657 calories a serving. You could make even more modifications to get that down if you wanted to, like leave out or decrease the butter, use water or non-fat broth, etc. *** ~ENJOY:drinker:

Cranberry Quinoa Chicken

Ingredients
QUINOA:
2 cups chicken broth (I used 1 cup water and 1 cup orange juice)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 green onions, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup chopped dried apricots
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt

CHICKEN:
3/4 cup dry sherry (I used white wine)
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 large tart apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons butter
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

In a small saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add quinoa and thyme. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat; fluff with a fork. Discard thyme.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add green onions and celery; cook and stir until tender. Add cooked quinoa. Stir in the dried fruits, lemon juice, lemon peel and salt. (Spoon into a casserole dish and set aside if you don't want to stuff the chicken breasts.)

In a large saucepan, mix the first six chicken ingredients until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until slightly thickened. Add the apple, cranberries and walnuts. Stir in preserves and butter until melted. Set aside.

**Cut a pocket horizontally in the thickest part of each chicken breast. Fill each with 2-3 tablespoons quinoa mixture; secure with toothpicks. Place remaining quinoa mixture in a greased 1-qt. baking dish; cover with foil. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Carefully brown stuffed chicken on both sides. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; pour apple mixture over top. (**I DID NOT STUFF THEM. I just browned them, then I put them on top of the quinoa in an UNgreased casserole and poured the apple mixture on top.)

Bake chicken and quinoa, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 170° and quinoa is heated through. Serve chicken with quinoa. Discard toothpicks before serving. Yield: 6 servings.



Originally published as Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Cranberry Quinoa in Taste of Home December/January 2013, p29

srp2011

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