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Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Wash and remove giblets from 4 Cornish hens.
- Sprinkle into center cavity of each hen the following: 1 tsp. ground coriander, 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 healthy pinch ground black pepper
- Pinch opening of hen closed and shake the bird to sprinkle the spices around
- Quarter the juice orange leaving the skin on it. Take a knife and pierce the orange sections through so that the juice will be able to come out while baking
- Put a quarter orange into the cavity of each hen and fold over any skin at opening to seal it
- Place hens on rack in roasting pan sprayed with pam. Pour a little water or orange juice in the pan (about 1/2 cup.)
- Put lid on pan. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Serve

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Tell Me More:
When I have guests coming for dinner, I often like to have the food come directly to the table as soon as it is cooked. The problem with this is that often the guests are having a wonderful time talking together and I am chained to the oven or the cooktop finishing off dinner. This recipe handles that problem in spades. I season and stuff the hens ahead of time and place them in the roasting pan on a metal frame to keep them off the bottom of the pan. I pour into the pan about 1/2 cup of water to cover the bottom of the pan so there is moisture as the birds cook. The oven gets preheated to 450 degrees empty. I am free to socialize with the guests as they arrive. When the last guest arrives I excuse myself to the kitchen and put the roasting pan (with the lid on) into the oven and go back and enjoy the conversation. In 20 minutes I return to the kitchen, put the hens onto the plates or a platter, and announce dinner. If I happen to think about it I will return to the kitchen early to remove the lid from the roaster for the last 2 or 3 minutes of baking time to let the birds brown up a bit.

Along with the hens, I usually pre-set a vegetable that can be microwaved or steamed in 10 to 15 minutes. The other dish can be a rice casserole that is re-heated easily or I will use pre-baked potatoes that are put back into the oven to reheat with the hens or finished in the microwave. The bottom line: I may run in and out of the kitchen 2 or 3 times, but I am not in the kitchen stirring and watching everything while others party.

NOTE: You can use 4, 6 or even 8 hens for this recipe. With 8 hens extend the baking time 5 or 10 minutes longer.

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Nutrition (per serving): 152 calories

Saturated fat 0 g Total Fat 2 g (11% of calories) Protein 33 g (87% of calories) Carbohydrates 1 g ( 2% of calories) Cholesterol 82 mg Sodium 94 mg

Basic Recipe: Serving size = 1 hen = 152 Calories = 5 1/2 Protein and less than 1/2 Fat Exchange.

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