Spiced Chicken and Barley

This one would have been good for the "one pot meals" challenge last month.

So, this challenge has been pretty hard for me, which is good and bad. I happened to be using my Cooking Light Complete cookbook to weigh something down, when I decided to flip through it to see if there was anything that sounded interesting for this month's challenge and I came across this recipe. It is one of those that you spend some time to put together, and then it just simmers on the stove for an hour...perfect for SAHMs. It ended up being a very healthy and satisfying meal, I don't know if I would serve it for company, but for a week night dinner it was pretty good.

Spiced Chicken and Barley

1 tsp grd cumin
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grd cinnamon (I went easy on this)
1/2 tsp dried mint flakes (I used oregano)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp rep pepper
6 (4oz) chicken thighs (I used >1 lb boneless, skinless breast)
1/2 tsp vegetable oil (ha, and I used olive oil)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 T soy sauce (I was out and used sherry - ding!)
2 cans chicken broth
1 1/4 cup barley
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
6 T green onions

1. Combine first 7 ingredients rub chicken with half of spice mixture.
2. Heat oil in non-stick skillet. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side until browned. Remove chicken from pan.
3. Add 1/2 cups onion and red bell pepper to pan; cook over medium high heat 3 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned. Stir in soy sauce, broth, barley, tomatoes, and remaining spice mixture (you know, I halved the barley, so used half of broth, barley, and tomatoes)
4. Add chicken to pan, nestling into vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes. Uncover; simmer 10 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Let stand 15 minutes. Spring with green onions. Original yield is 6 servings.

Mine did end up pretty saucy, but I was really rushing the last couple of steps. It was still good though. I sliced the chicken and served with sour cream.