Rice Stuffing with Apples, Herbs, and Bacon

Ingredients

• 1 cup apples diced unpeeled
• 0.3 pound bacon 
• 3 cups celery diced
• 1.8 cups currants 
• 0.5 ounce apricots dried
• 0.8 cup cherries dried
• 0.8 cup cranberries dried
• 6 tablespoons herbs mixed dried
• 0.5 cup flat parsley italian chopped
• 1.5 cups chicken broth low fat, low sodium
• 3 cups onions diced
• 1 tablespoon water 
• 1 cup rice long-grain white uncooked
• 1 cup rice wild uncooked

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 1 1/2 cups water and the chicken broth to a boil. Stir in wild rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Reserving drippings, drain bacon, crumble, and set aside.
3. In the skillet with the reserved bacon drippings, saute onions and celery with 1 tablespoon water. Cook until very soft, about 20 minutes.
4. Stir remaining water, white rice, currants, cherries, cranberries, apricots, and apples into the wild rice. Continue cooking 20 minutes, or until wild rice and white rice are tender.
5. In a large bowl, mix the bacon and the onion mixture into the rice mixture. Season with the Italian parsley and dried mixed herbs.