Thursday, March 6, 2008

Cranberry Apricot Chicken

As many of us out there are trying to do, Adam and I make a point to eat healthy most of the time. And eating healthy means chicken shows up on the menu a lot. I mean, quite a bit. And we get sick of the same flavors over and over.

My boss, Leslie, has helped me combat boring chicken with a great and easy recipe. When you are sick of creamy, spicy, tangy, limey, smokey, and savory poultry, why not give sweet a try! Generally Adam isn't a big sweet for dinner kind of guy, whereas I was raised on applesauce, corn, and cranberry sauce. (I wouldn't eat my veggies and my parents would feed me anything if it was remotely produce related!) But happily, hubby really liked this, as did I.

It is supposed to be made with fresh, raw cranberries, but sadly, it is March in Maine and fresh local fruit is hard to come by. As in I couldn't find ANY raw or frozen berries in the 2 stores I looked. I had to sub in dried, but the issue with that is they coat them in sugar. But you make do with what you've got available, right?

I think the best part of this were the toasted almonds. They added a great crunch and complimented the fruits wonderfully. Don't leave them out or I think you'll lose some of the delight of this meal. I served this with a nice side of fresh spinach and Mom's Rice Pilaf.


Cranberry Apricot Chicken
From Manager Leslie

  • 4-6 Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Sage
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Thyme
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 1 14 oz. Can Apricot Halves, with syrup
  • 1/2 C. Cranberries
  • 1/2 C. Sliced Almonds, toasted

  1. Rub both sides of the chicken breasts with the sage, thyme, and S&P.
  2. Heat a few Tbsp. of olive oil in a large saute pan on the stovetop. Place the breasts in the pan and cook almost all the way through, flipping once to brown both sides. (I should have browned mine at a higher heat. They were a little pale, but I couldn't wait any longer to continue or my chicken would have been way over cooked.)
  3. Pour in the can of apricot halves and the syrup. Stir in the cranberries as well, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the syrup thickens some.
  4. Serve chicken and fruit warm with almonds sprinkled on top of the dish!

2 comments:

That Girl said...

I would have done the same thing with the cranberries. What else are you supposed to do?

Summer said...

Yeah, I'm sure the craisins were just fine! I wonder if you could have subbed apricots in juice instead of syrup. It might not have been as tasty, but would have made it a bit more lo-cal!

This looks so yummy, I think I'll try this one!