Recently I added the foodie blogroll widget and have gotten a bit of traffic, which makes me quite the happy panda. I currently have 4 followers, well, more like 3 because my friend Maria decided to start a food blog but has yet to post. In her words, “she doesn’t do blogs”. Personally, i love it. I’m planning on having a giveaway for Halloween. Nothing too spectacular since i don’t have the funds to give out fabulous gifts like most bloggers. I was thinking of giving away some cookie cutters since my new obsession (which i have yet to venture in) is cookie cutters and learning to decorate them. What do you think?
Moving on to the food before i get sidetracked. I know most people out their do not like Rachael Ray and thats perfectly fine, but i do. I’m not in love with her or anything, i just happen to buy her magazines, unless you have a better suggestion. I was flipping through her October 2009 issue with my husband peeking over my shoulder when i came across a recipe called Pomegranate Chicken with Walnuts. The picture looks so good, mine, well not so much. I of course omitted the walnuts, defrosted chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs and used regular POM juice. Overall, this dish was a-okay. My husband said “It has an interesting taste” which you know when they say interesting, they really mean i don’t like it haha Personally, it wasn’t that bad. It was a little sweet for a savory dish and the parsley probably killed it for us… completely overpowered the whole dish.
My changes are in the parentheses 
Pomegranate Chicken with Walnuts
Recipe from October 2009 Rachael Ray Magazine
2 cups rice (1 cup rice)
5 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (1 huge piece of chicken breast, cut into quarters)
Salt & Pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil (i used canola)
1 large onion, halved and sliced
1 clove garlic, smashed
3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (i of course omitted it)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups cranberry-pomegranate juice (i used regular pom juice)
2 TBsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
In a medium saucepan, bring the rice and 2 1/4 cups water to a simmer. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the water has evaporated and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until browned, about 7 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the onion, garlic and walnuts to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon, scraping up the browned bits. Return the chicken and any juices to the pan, add the cranberry-pom juice and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 3-4 mins; transfer the chicken to a serving plate.
Cook the sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 3 minutes; stir in the parsley and pour over the chicken. Serve on top of the rice.
