Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Ancho Honey Chicken over Tropical Rice

Main Dishes

My younger brother went through a phase when he was about five where he was obsessed with cantaloupe. I remember him easily downing four or five slices at a time, which I didn’t really understand since I was such a picky eater. In fact, I used to regularly make fun of him because he told everyone that he wanted to be a cantaloupe farmer when he grew up. I was pretty sure, at the ripe old age of nine, that this would never happen. Poor guy, it’s cute now looking back and realizing that he loved the fruit so much that he imagined working in a job where he could eat it all day!

Anyway, whenever I see a cantaloupe, I think of my brother, and I recently realized there were no recipes featuring it on my blog. This had to change! So, I whipped up chicken breasts with an ancho honey glaze over tropical rice with cantaloupe, pineapple, and almonds. This one is for you Richard!

Ancho Honey Chicken over Tropical Rice
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken:
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worchershire sauce
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

Tropical Rice:
2 cups finely chopped cantaloupe
2 cups finely chopped fresh pineapple
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
4 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 tablespoons canola oil
Juice of one lime
3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
To make the chicken, heat oven to 350˚F. Place brown sugar, honey, vinegar, Worchershire sauce, ancho chile powder, cayenne pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until brown sugar is dissolved and mixture has reduced to 1/4 cup. Sprinkle chicken breasts with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place chicken breasts on a grill pan heated over medium high heat and sear chicken breasts on both sides for 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Place seared chicken in a 13×9-inch baking dish and use a pastry brush to rub half the glaze on all sides of the chicken breasts. Bake at 350˚F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and baste with remaining glaze. Bake an additional 2 minutes at 350˚F or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

Meanwhile, make the tropical rice by mixing cantaloupe, pineapple, red pepper, and onion in a large bowl. Remove 1/3 cup fruit mixture for chicken garnish, if desired. Stir in rice, toasted almonds, canola oil, lime juice, and salt until well mixed.

To serve, place rice on 4 plates and top each with a piece of chicken and fruit garnish. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 869 calories, 29.4g fat, 9.3g fiber, 66.4g protein per serving
Cost: $2.85 per serving

Cumin Rubbed Salmon with a Fresh Corn and Red Pepper Sauce

Apolinaras kept popping his head in the kitchen last night while I was prepping dinner because he was so excited we were having salmon. Apparently he thought a little cheering from the sidelines would hurry things along because he kept doing little dances to amuse me....

Pecan Crusted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

I’m on the hunt for new chicken recipes. We’ve been eating more poultry than usual lately due to my hubby’s weightlifting diet. While I haven’t joined him in slurping down protein shakes and chowing down on egg whites every morning, I try to keep things interesting...

Mushroom Walnut Pesto Pasta

Apolinaras went to Costco while I was on my baking adventure and brought home a fun present - a huge canister of dried gourmet mushrooms! The blend contained a mix of porcini, morels, Brazilian, Ivory portabellas, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms, and I immediately knew...

Gruyere Risotto with Asparagus and Mushrooms

I apologize if you had trouble with my blog earlier this week. I tried to upgrade my WordPress account and the theme completely crashed – ugh. Luckily, my better half is a computer whiz and very supportive of my blogging. He stayed up until 5am – yes, 5am – to fix it...

BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Baked Potatoes with Corn and Roasted Red Peppers

I’ve been unable to stop smiling lately. I just feel like we have so much to look forward to - we’re moving next week into a more spacious apartment and will finally have a grown up master suite with a walk-in closet. I’m already itching to organize our new kitchen...

Orange Roasted Chicken

Time for part 2 of our New Zealand adventure (you can check out part 1 here)! After visiting Rotorua, we drove down to see Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, which fills a caldera created by a huge volcanic eruption, and the Huka Waterfalls. Taupo is a...

Mediterranean Portobello Mushroom and Eggplant Stacks

Although I make vegetarian meals a couple times a week, it’s usually because I’m feeling too lazy to really cook. I often whip up simple meals like pizza, tofu fried rice, or breakfast for dinner when I’m super busy, but I rarely put extra effort into making really...

Spinach, Bacon, and Blue Cheese Stuffed Pecan Crusted Chicken Breasts

I’m often asked how I manage to post original recipes so often while working long hours and hitting the gym the majority of the days of the week. Well, what I usually do is work in bursts. I may perfect three or four recipes in one weekend and then take a break. I...