GARLIC BROWN SUGAR CHICKEN AND RICE

Made this last night for the first time.  This is one of those recipes that has thousands of versions on the internet.....each with it's own charm.  I decided to take my own flair on it, which included cutting up the chicken in bite-size pieces, so it cooks faster than breasts, and you get more sauce.  It was delicious and helped satisfy our craving for Chinese food in a healthier way.  Two of our favorite dishes are bourbon chicken and sesame chicken, both with a brown sauce base.  This was close enough to be yummy!!!  We added cooked carrots as a side, since they pair well with the sauce. Hope you like it too.

The picture DOES NOT do it justice...........just melted in our mouths.

INGREDIENTS

4 (6 oz.) chicken breasts - cut into bite-size pieces
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter or butter substitute
2 Tbsp. white cooking wine
1/3 cup minced onion - I used the frozen kind in a bag for this recipe
2 Tbsp. minced garlic (refrigerated version)
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 cups Prepared brown rice

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease an 8x8 inch baking dish. Cut chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. Heat olive oil, butter, and cooking wine in a skillet on medium. Add onions and garlic and cook until mostly soft. Increase to medium-high heat and add chicken. Saute until outside of chicken is no longer pink. Pour into the baking dish and place in oven with aluminum foil as a cover. Cook for 15 minutes and then remove cover. Prepare rice while you are waiting on the chicken. Bake chicken until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

 

Browning chicken with sauted garlic and onion

 

Chicken in liquid ready for oven

 

The finished product.......as you can see, very messy.  You need cooking spray or line the pan with aluminum foil.

 

 Close-up showing how tender and juicy it is!!!