Barley Chicken With Cranberries and Pine Nuts

Photo: HyeThymeCafe

Ingredients

3 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup medium pearled barley

2 stalks of celery- chopped

1 lg red onion- chopped

1 tablespoon jarred minced garlic w/red pepper (or 3 cloves of garlic-

1/2 bunch of parsley- chopped

1/2 cup Dried Cranberries- chopped

2 teaspoons lemon juice

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Poultry seasoning

Garlic powder

Butter

Preparation

Bring the broth to a boil and pour in the barley with a sprinkle of salt.

Let that boil, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick or clump, for 15-20" until the barley starts to soften.

In a large ovenproof pan, saute the celery and onion in a little olive or canola oil until the celery softens and the onion just begins to brown.

Add the garlic, parsley (reserving a little for garnish), lemon juice, and cranberries and continue for another minute or so.

Prep your chicken by giving it a rinse, trimming any excess fat, etc., and then pounding out any thick pieces so everything cooks evenly.

Season the chicken on both sides with a little poultry seasoning and garlic powder.

When the barley is ready, go ahead and pour it into your pan with the veggies, including any liquid left in the pot.

Give it a good stir to mix everything, then place the chicken over the barley mixture.

Top each piece of chicken with a thin sliver of butter.

Bake, covered, at 350 for an hour.

While everything else is in the oven, give the pot you cooked the barley in a quick rinse and pour in the pine nuts.

Start on medium high, and as soon as you start to smell them cooking, turn it down to low and keep stirring or shaking the pot around -- like making homemade popcorn -- until the nuts are golden brown.

Make sure to immediately pour them onto a paper towel or something so the residual heat from the pan doesn't continue cooking them.

To plate, serve up a scoop of the barley, top with a piece of chicken and sprinkle with parsley and pine nuts.

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About

I was trying to come up with a use for some barley we had in the pantry, and I had just bought some pine nuts and cranberries, so I decided to use all three. The chicken was actually kinda blah - surprising with the poultry seasoning, garlic, and butter, but the barley part was AWESOME!! Would make a great side dish with a roasted chicken or turkey - even with pork chops.