Grandma Alice’s Baked Chicken and Rice

Grandma Alice’s Baked Chicken is one of the few recipes I have that’s been handed down. My mom had this on a newspaper clipping I think, that she’d gotten from my dad’s mom. It’s so simple and yet so good! Sprinkle some garlic salt on bone-in chicken pieces, press them into some seasoned flour, then bake skin side down with some broth in the dish, turn skin side up and finish baking.

Whole chickens were on sale so I bought one and cut it up, throwing the neck and back into a freezer bag that’s slowly getting filled with parts for chicken broth. I’m not great at cutting up chickens but I’m getting better. I typically cut it into the usual wings, legs, thighs, and breasts–and then cut the (half) breasts in half again, giving me 10 pieces rather than the usual 8. Sometimes I don’t bother cooking the wings and just throw them in the soup bag as well since they’re not a favorite of anyone’s.

I like to do a baked rice dish or baked potatoes at the same time, since the oven is on. While they’re baking, make up a dessert like an apple crisp and throw it in the oven as well. It will finish up and be nice and warm for dessert.

Baking rice gives it a slightly different texture than when it’s cooked on the stove. I saute some onion in a bit of olive oil, then add the rice and saute it for a minute or two. Add enough chicken broth (two parts broth to 1 part rice) and some seasonings. For a cup of rice, I’d typically add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp each of dried basil, sage, marjoram, and thyme. Stir it all up and transfer to a baking dish, if necessary, cover, and bake for an hour somewhere between 350 and 400.