Week 21 - Where's the curry?

I got a new slow cooker/casserole/dessert book from my dear mother and the recipes look great EXCEPT that when it's 85 degrees outside neither slow cooker nor hot casseroles sound good. So I found one that looked OK for summer and here we are. Indian chicken.

So I'm thinking curry but WAIT... no curry. I also connected curry with Indian food but it turns out I'm as crazy as they say. This recipe has absolutely no curry but it definitely smelled of Indian and was quite tasty.

The only issue I ran into with this was the rice mix - I didn't check the box when I bought it and the recipe calls for a 6 oz. box and mine was only 4. I added some basmati that I had at the house so it wasn't too liquidy, but that ended up not being as cooked as the rest. It was still quite good, though, and seemed not altogether unhealthy which is always nice.

INDIAN-SPICED CHICKEN WITH WILD RICE

Source: Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker, Casseroles, Desserts Book

1/2 tsp. salt - 1/2 tsp. ground cumin - 1/2 tsp. black pepper - 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon - 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric - 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.) - 2 T. olive oil - 2 carrots, sliced - 1 red bell pepper, chopped - 1 stalk celery, chopped - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1 package (6 oz.) long grain and wild rice mix - 2 C. reduced-sodium chicken broth - 1 C. raisins - 1/4 C. sliced almonds

1. Combine all spices in small bowl. Rub spice mixture on both sides of chicken. Place chicken on plate; cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes per side or until browned. Remove chicken; set aside.

4. Add carrots, bell pepper, celery and garlic to skillet; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add rice; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add seasoning packet from rice mix and broth; bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat; stir in raisins. Pour into prepared dish. Place chicken on rice mixture; sprinkle with almonds.

5. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and rice is tender.