Rosemary Chicken and Wild Rice

I would like to apologize in advance for not snapping a photo of this delicious, simple, and fast meal. I took chicken out of the freezer to thaw last night without a plan. We were all recovering from a weekend of wedding madness (my kids were flower girls), and I really didn't want to go to the store. So, I went straight to Mel (knowing her blog is least likely to have crazy stuff I would need to shop for) and I found a winner. The bonus is that I got to use some fresh rosemary out of my garden, which made this even more fantastic. I don't think I've ever had a main dish centered around wild rice that wasn't creamy, and I really enjoyed it. Give it a go. 

Rosemary Chicken and Wild Rice

-adapted slightly from melskitchencafe.com

• -1 cup wild rice 
• -1 tablespoon olive oil
• -2 garlic cloves, minced
• -2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• -2 carrots, diced or 14-16 baby carrots, diced
• -1 tablespoon dried rosemary or 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• -1/2 cup orange marmalade
• -2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• -1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• -salt to taste
•  
• Cook the wild rice according to package directions. While the rice is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add the chicken*** and carrots and saute, stirring frequently, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 3-4 minutes longer. Stir in the marmalade, mustard and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until heated through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the hot rice. Toss to combine and serve. 
• ***Now, I went ahead and roasted my chicken as per usual (salt/pepper on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 375 for about an hour). You could also just use leftover cooked chicken, or even buy a rotisserie chicken if that is your thing. The reason I roasted it was three fold--1. my chicken was still partially frozen and I didn't want a bunch of water in my saute pan as it thawed/cooked,  2. I prefer to handle raw chicken as little as possible, so didn't want to cut it all up, and 3. It really was a hands-off meal for the most part. As the chicken and rice neared completion, I sauteed the carrots and garlic, stirred in the sauce ingredients, and then folded in the rice and chicken. This was easier for me and gave me lots of time to tackle other household tasks while dinner basically cooked itself.