Boooring...

That was the fear anyway...Hubby's dealing with some health issues that require a bland diet for a couple of weeks. This may be good news for any of you tired of spice, red meat, citrus/acid, high fiber/no fiber, dairy, or anything else I normally cook with. But lucky you, cause I'm gonna cook all the braised chicken and rice you/we can stand.

Basically, I've been handed a challenge I didn't ask for and am going to do my best. Cause my baby's gotta eat, and I'm damn sure not cooking two meals a night, and even he can't eat chicken noodle soup every day.

So here we go. This should be interesting. Today we went with Braised Chicken with Apples, Shallots and Sage, adapted from some recipe I found on my Epicurious app while getting my hair cut (There's hardly ever a bad time to multi-task, in my opinion.)

Pretty easy, pretty "bland," and yet, pretty darn tasty. Can't argue with that. The risotto was my favorite part, especially since I had no idea if apple would work with rice...it worked. I recommend having both together.


Braised Chicken with Apples, Shallots and Sage
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
S&P
Cooking Spray
2 medium Gala or Braeburn apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 shallots, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp light butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp sage

Set aside about 1/2 a sliced shallot and 1/2 a chopped apple for the rice.

Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper. Coat pan with spray and heat over high. Add chicken and brown about 2 minutes a side. Remove to a plate.

With heat at medium high, add apple and shallot and saute about 5 minutes or until apple starts to brown. Add butter, sugar, broth and sage. Bring to a boil for about a minute, then add chicken back in and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook about a half hour, adding more broth if necessary, til chicken is soft enough to be cut with a fork.


Apple Shallot Risotto
Leftover shallot and apple (see above)
splash olive oil
1/2 cup arborio rice
2 cups broth (or so)

Heat oil over medium high. Add shallots and apple. Let carmelize down a bit. In other words, ignore it until it starts to brown/burn just a bit. Then stir, reduce heat a bit, and stir in rice and cook another 30 seconds or so.

Add about a 1/2 cup of broth and let cook down until liquid is all absorbed. Repeat, adding about a 1/2 cup at a time until the rice is tender to the bite. Add a bit of salt to taste.