Fall fruits are delicious fresh or cooked in desserts or in a meat dish. This time of year those with fruit trees are being creative by tossing apples and pears into every dish they can imagine. I had a few pears from our trees that needed attention, so I decided to create a chicken pear dish. I used Bosc and Bartlett pears.

Chicken with sautéed pears and onions

1 onion, sliced thin
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
½ cup water
4 tablespoons butter, divided
Salt and pepper
4 chicken breasts
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 pears, peeled, cut into ½-inch slices
Dash of nutmeg
1 can fat-free chicken broth
¼ cup all-purpose flour

Heat olive oil in skillet and sauté onions until tender and slightly golden. Transfer onions to a baking dish and deglaze skillet with water. Scrape skillet clean; pour water into dish with onions.

Heat oven to 350°. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet. Salt and pepper chicken and place it in skillet to brown. Transfer chicken to the baking dish when brown on all sides. Cover baking dish with foil and place in oven while you make the sauce and cook the beans.

Remove any excess oil from skillet. Reduce heat and deglaze skillet with ¼ cup water. Scrape bottom of skillet. Add sliced pears to broth, season with nutmeg, and simmer for five minutes. Place pears in a bowl and reserve liquid in a measuring cup. Return heat to medium high and melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Sprinkle in flour and stir with a flat whisk until well-mixed, forming a paste. Slowly add reserve liquid and chicken broth, continue stirring until flour mixture has dissolved and liquid begins to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and stir occasionally to prevent sauce from burning. Add thyme leaves and pears, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for five minutes.

Herb-seasoned wild rice

Cook according to package directions.

Green beans with shallots

1 pound green beans 1 tablespoon butter
1 large shallot Salt and pepper to taste

I recently picked the last of my second crop of tender green beans from my garden. Beans will keep longer in the refrigerator in a paper bag. Make sure they are dry; wet beans will turn brown quickly.

Add a sprinkle of salt to the water. When the water has reached a rolling boil, add the beans and cook until tender, about four minutes. Drain beans and immediately run under cold water to prevent them from cooking further. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan on low heat, add chopped shallots, and sauté until tender. Return beans to pan and toss until coated.

Place chicken and rice on plates; spoon sauce with pears and onions over each; and add beans with shallots. Enjoy the last of summer’s harvest and the fruits of fall.