Maple Grilled Chicken with Rice

I actually have a recipe to share with you all today!  Quite some time ago, my mother-in-law gave us a cook book with meals that have 5 ingredients or less.  Despite how easy that sounds, I've had yet to use it.  One of my big things in regard to cooking is that I go a little crazy when a recipe calls for ingredients that I don't have on hand.

Since I pretty much fail at meal planning, this happens a lot.

Even this 5 ingredient cook book has recipes with stuff that I just don't keep "in stock."  That's not to say that they're obscure ingredients or anything--just things I don't happen to have.

Fortunately, that did not happen this time.

I've gotten the idea in my head that I need to start marinating chicken before cooking it.  I love chicken, but I would say that 98% of the time when I cook it on my own, I just don't care for it.  While this recipe doesn't specifically ask you to marinate the chicken, I decided to do it anyway.  (And this one only has 4 ingredients!)

Maple Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. maple syrup*
• 1/2 c. barbecue sauce
• 1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
• 4 chicken breast halves

*I had this little container of maple syrup from a fall-themed  bridal shower.  It was probably only about a 1/4 c. so I used regular old Mrs. Butterworth's syrup to make up the difference.

1. Mix marinade in a container.

2. Split chicken breasts in half with a sharp knife.

3. Place chicken breast into a bag, and pour in the marinade.  Reserve about a 1/2 cup for basting during cooking.  (This is  your preference.  I saved less than a 1/2 c.)  Toss around in the bag to coat the chicken.

4. Refrigerate the chicken and extra sauce for 3-24 hours.

5. Grill for 6 minutes on each side, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.  (I cooked ours on our George Forman grill.)  Half-way through grilling, add some of the remaining marinade to the chicken.

I decided to make rice to go along with this.  We have white minute rice here, but white rice alone is just so...blah.  I Googled some recipes, and sort of pieced ideas to come up with this:

Not-So-Boring White Rice
Ingredients

• 1 c. dry minute rice*
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. chicken broth
• 1/4-1/3 c. chopped onion
• 3 T butter, divided
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• salt & pepper, to taste

*The rice I use is equal parts rice to liquid.  So if I'm making 1 cup of rice, I need 1 cup of liquid, etc. etc.

1. Add water and chicken broth to a pan, and bring to a boil.  Add rice, stir, cover, and remove from heat for 5 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed.

2. Meanwhile, in a larger sauce pan, add 2 T. of butter, and melt over low heat.  When it is melted, add the onion and garlic powder, and saute.

3. Add in the rice, remaining T of butter, salt, and pepper.*  Stir until heated through.

*I added a little more chicken broth at this time, too.  Just to keep the rice from burning to the bottom of the pan.

Verdict?

I REALLY enjoyed the rice.  I think next time, I'd like to add something green...like frozen peas.  I think this would make it look pretty, but add even more interest.

I liked the sauce on the chicken.  I can't decide if I just really only like chicken that's breaded and bad for me, or if I just don't care for the kind of chicken we get.  I typically prefer chicken breast, but this didn't taste any better to me than the last time I made a chicken recipe using chicken thighs.

Does anyone else have issues with chicken??

I know red meat isn't "as good" for you, but it seems that these days I prefer beef to chicken.  I'd love to hear your thoughts, and if you give either of these recipes a try, let me know!! :)