Delicious Dinners: Chicken with Wild Rice Alfredo

I share this recipe with you with one warning... you would be crazy if you made this on a week night I would strongly suggest that this is not a week night type of dinner (unless you have the ability to start cooking before 4PM). Between the rice cooking time and the chicken baking time, this recipe can become an all afternoon affair! We tried this delicious dinner on a Sunday though, so it worked well that I could get it started early.  I hope you enjoy! We certainly did. 

The meal idea comes from Pillsbury, and I have found some really tasty meals through their website's newsletter. The gorgeous photo also comes from their website. I promise to start taking my own photos of my creations, however I made this dinner before I started my blog, so I wasn't thinking about photos to jazz up blog posts yet.

Here we go:

3/4    cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained ( I just used a brown and white rice mixture that I had laying around instead of buying a whole new bag of wild rice)
1/2    can (14 oz) roasted garlic-seasoned chicken broth ( I made my own by just adding 3 sizable cloves)
1/2    cup water
1/2    teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1    tablespoon butter or margarine
3    boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)
1 1/2    cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2    jar (7 oz) roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
1    cup Alfredo pasta sauce (I used a reduced fat Alfredo and it tasted great!)

DIRECTIONS
1.    In 2-quart saucepan, heat wild rice, broth and water to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 35- 45 minutes or until rice kernels are open and almost tender; drain if necessary. Stir in thyme. Spread rice in ungreased 9x9-inch glass baking dish.

2.    Heat oven to 350°F. In 12-inch skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in butter 8 to10 minutes, turning once, until brown. Place on cooked rice. Add mushrooms and bell peppers to skillet. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Stir in Alfredo sauce; pour over chicken.

3.    Bake uncovered 45 to 55 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

I hope you enjoy. Let me know if you were able to try it and how it turned out.