Butternut-Honey Chicken Leg Quarters and Rice

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Place in small saucepan: liquid from one 15 oz can red tart cherries in water, 2 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp wildflower honey, 3 tbsp strawberry honey wine, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp hickory smoked salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground savory, 1/2 tsp tarragon leaf.  Heat together on medium, stirring steadily.  Cook until boiling, then 5-10 minutes longer.

Spray bottom and sides of large oblong ridge-bottomed roaster (with lid) with olive oil.  Spread 1 cup each basmati and jasmine rice across bottom, shaking together.  Spread 1 cup gluten-free anellini pasta across top of rice.  Add 1/2 lb frozen chopped broccoli, the cherries from the can above, and one 15 oz can yellow cling peaches in peach and pear juice concentrate (the juice is mostly absorbed by the peaches).

Stir one 15 oz can butternut squash puree into sauce pan and cook for 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally to avoid spitting.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 tbsp coconut flour.

Add one 13.66 oz can unsweetened coconut milk, 2 cups chicken broth, and 2 cups chicken stock to roaster.  Place 5 lbs mostly defrosted chicken leg quarters in roaster and stab all over with knife.  Spoon butternut-honey sauce over each piece (should be cohesive enough to hold together despite high liquid level) and place in oven for 90 minutes.

Though it may seem like I did not add enough liquid for all of the rice and pasta, you have to remember the liquids that come from the cherries, peaches, and chicken.  The cooking process brings these out and provides plenty of fluid for all, as you can see here, without being too much.  This is a nice sweet-and-savory dish, and the butternut-honey sauce is good enough to stand on its own as a pasta sauce or in other dishes (and in fact I made some more for my very next creation).