unlikely dish

So in an effort to clean out our pantry and spend only $50 a week on groceries, I cooked up an unlikely dish for dinner tonight.  Chicken with carrots, prunes, and rice.  PRUNES people.  Why do I even have prunes in the house?  Well, because Mom told me I should eat 5 prunes every morning...which I don't, but I am so happy we had them in the fridge!

This recipe comes from my new favorite cookbook, Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh.  Seriously, please try this dish, it is delicious!  Nic (who cringed when I told him what I was making) went back for thirds.

Chicken with carrots, prunes, and rice
(I halved the recipe and used a chicken breast as opposed to a whole chicken as the recipe suggests - which is reflected below.  Maddie - I promised I changed nothing else)

1 chicken breast
1T olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and grated
1 cup long-grain white rice (I used an organic brown rice, which I might not suggest as it took over 2 hours to cook)
6 ounces pitted prunes, coarsely chopped
Paprika
3 cups boiling low sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350*
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a heavy oven proof pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pot and brown each side, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add onion to same pot and saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Spread 1/3 of carrots over the onion, then 1/3 of rice, 1/3 of prunes and half of chicken. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Repeat layering. (Ending with carrots, rice and prunes). Cover pot and place in oven. Bak until chicken and rice are cooked through, about 1 hour.