Ahira's Hangar

My recipe with which I qualified for the semi-finals of the Manishewitz Cook-Off.

Chicken and Grains

olive oil cooking spray (I put extra light olive oil into a Misto, and spray my pans with that. Who needs propellants from aerosols?)
2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on the oblique
1 bulb fresh garlic (that's the entire head of 15 to 20 cloves), minced fine
1 lb. raw white rice
1 lb. raw pearled barley
1 lb. medium size pasta shells, uncooked
2 envelopes dry onion soup mix, divided
8 chcken leg quarters, split into leg and thigh (you can use chicken breasts, but we're dark meat eaters here)
1/3 to 1/2 lb. fresh white button muhrooms, sliced thin
1/2 cup dry white wine
~2 quarts room temperature chicken stock (I prefer homemade)

Put oven rack in the center position of oven.
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Prepare the bottom of a large broiler pan by lining with aluminum foil and spraying or rubbing with a light costing of olive oil. Put away the slotted top of the broiler pan.
Layer the sliced carrots over the entire bottom of the pan so it is completely covered, sightly overlapping the slices.
Sprinkle the minced garlic over the carrots so they are evenly covered by the garlic.
Cover the carrots and garlic with the rice, using your clean hands to spread it out and cover the carrots and garlic evenly.
Do the same with the barley over the rice.
Open one envelope of dry onion soup mix, pour it into a small bowl, and toss with fingers to mix the dried onion flakes and bouillon powder evenly. Sprinkle half of the soup mix over the barley.
Layer the pasta shells over the barley and soup mix, spreading it out the same way as you did the rice and barley.
Sprinkle the remaining open envelope of dry onion soup mix over the pasta shells.
Arrange the chicken on top of the pasta shells. I put four drumsticks diagonally in the corners of the pan, with the bone end facing into the middle of the pan. Then, the shorter end of the pan gets two thighs, and the longer end alternates thigh, leg, thigh, from one corner drumstick to the other. The two leftover drumsticks are arranged in the middle of the pan.
Place a few mushroom slices on each piece of chicken, enough to make them look pretty.
Open the second envelope of dry onion soup mix, dispurse it with fingers as before, and sprinkle over the chicken and mushrooms.
In between the chicken pieces, pour in the wine and the chicken stock, until you can just see the top of the liquids coming up between the pasta shells and over the barley.
At this point, your food is either just even with the top of the pan, or slightly above it. Cover tightly with aluminum foil that is sprayed or rubbed with a thin layer of olive oil (that non-stick foil should work too).
Place broile pan on center rack, close door, and turn oven down to 375ºF.
Bake for 90 minutes to two hours, depending on if the chicken is fully cooked and/or the rice is tender. (If using white meat, it may take less time, especially if using boneless/skinless breasts)
Remove from oven and allow to sit covered for ten minutes.