Smothered Barley With Chicken

Submitted by KCShell

"This is a flavorful recipe that I found on a Weight Watchers recipe board. Will fit Flex plan or Core."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3⁄4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 6 (4 ounce) chicken thighs or (4 ounce) chicken breasts
• 1⁄2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 1⁄2 cups onions, chopped
• 1 cup red pepper
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 1⁄2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1⁄4 cups uncooked pearl barley
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes

directions

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Rub chicken with 1/2 of the spices, saving rest.
3. Heat oil, cook chicken one minute on each side, or until browned.
4. Remove chicken from pan.
5. Re-coat skillet with cooking spray.
6. Add onion, bell pepper and soy sauce.
7. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until veggies are browned.
8. Add broth, barley, tomatoes and remaining spice mixture.
9. Add chicken.
10. Stir gently.
11. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat.
12. Simmer 55 minutes or until chicken is done.

Reviews

[Chef Jac-Mo]

Love it! I had to add water a couple of times at the end. I used chicken breasts and fresh tomatos. Tossed in water chesnuts for crunch. It is really good and will definitely be a staple in our house for good. Thanks!

 

[Gingernut]

This originally came from Cooking Light and is a family favourite in our house. I mix the seasonings in bulk and keep them on hand, because measuring them all is the hardest part of this recipe! Also I always add the soy sauce AFTER browning the veggies ... the act of adding the soy sauce first never made sense to me. I have tried this in the slow cooker, and it didn't work well. I only like it with thighs, breasts always seem too dry by the time the barley is cooked. Thanks for posting (saves me doing it!).

 

[Demandy]

Very good for a meal that is so healthy, but I felt it could use more and or different spices. This may have been better with a middle eastern blend rather than cinnamon with the cumin and chili powder. The meal was like a stew when cooked for the recommended time, but will be better leftover when most of the liquid has absorbed. The chicken came out well, tender and not rubbery at all.