Apricot-Ginger Chicken

Apricot-Ginger Chicken

This was dinner tonight along with a side salad and homemade sweet-and-sour dressing (recipe below). The chicken was good, but could have been better. I used 2 T of fresh ginger, so next time will cut that in half. It could have been that I was just so excited to try this recipe that maybe I imagined it to be much better than it really was. Ah well. It's something to play with. I love to tweak recipes :-) I think tomorrow I'll slice up the chicken, use a little bit of the remaining sauce and mix it with salad greens & the sweet-and-sour dressing I made tonight. That sounds like it might be good.

Apricot-Ginger Chicken
Yield: 4 servings

Sauce:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons low-sod chicken broth
1/4 cup light reduced-sugar apricot fruit spread (I used the NSA Smuckers brand)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ground ginger

Rest of Ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 8 equal pieces and pounded 1/4-inch thick
1 tablespoon canola oil (I used a small spritz of olive oil)
3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions

Place all of the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to mix well. Set aside. Combine the garlic powder, pepper and salt and sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with some of the seasoning.Place the oil in a large nonstick skillet and preheat over medium-high heat.Add the chicken and cook for a couple of mins on each side, until nicely browned and no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside to keep warm.Pour the sauce into the skillet and cook stirring frequently, for a couple of mins or until sauce is reduced by almost half and is syrupy.

To serve, place 2 pieces of chicken on each of 4 serving plates. Drizzle each serving with some of the sauce and top with a sprinkling of scallions. Serve hot.

Source: Unknown

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Sweet-and-Sour Dressing
Yield: Makes 1 cup

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar (I used splenda)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Whisk together oil and remaining ingredients.

Source: Southern Living, January 2002

Chicken Chili

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chicken Chili

Recipe By :Ina Garten
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Soups

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
8 cups chopped yellow onions -- (6 onions)
1/4 cup olive oil -- plus extra for chicken
1/4 cup minced garlic -- (8 cloves)
4 red bell peppers -- cored, seeded, and large-diced
4 yellow bell peppers -- cored, seeded, and large-diced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes -- or to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper -- or to taste
4 teaspoons kosher salt -- plus more for chicken
4 28-ounce cans whole peeled plum tomatoes -- in puree, undrained
1/2 cup minced fresh basil leaves
8 split chicken breasts -- bone in,skin on
fresh ground black pepper

FOR SERVING
Chopped onions, Corn chips
Grated cheddar cheese, Sour cream

Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Crush the tomatoes by hand or in batches in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (pulse 6 to 8 times). Add to the pot with the basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked. Let cool slightly. Separate the meat from the bones and skin and cut into 3/4-inch chunks. Add to the chili and simmer, uncovered, for another 20 minutes. Serve with the toppings, or refrigerate and reheat gently before serving.

Serves 12

Source:
"Barefoot Contessa Parties!"
Copyright:
"2001 Clarkson Potter/Publisher"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 109 Calories; 5g Fat (38.6% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 637mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

***My notes: I forego the oven and cook the chicken in the pot first with a small spritz of olive oil (barely any ~ just enough to brown the chicken). I then add the rest of the ingredients (yellow & orange peppers instead of red, because I figure there's enough red from the tomatoes) and let it slow cook all day long. This is very yummy and I serve it with green onions, lowfat sour cream, and lowfat cheddar cheese.

Light & Easy Chicken and Veggies

Light & Easy Chicken and Veggies

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
Garlic cloves, minced (to taste ~ I used 1 per breast half)
onion powder, to taste
salt & pepper to taste
1 large red onion
1 red pepper
2 small yellow squash
fresh basil, to taste
fresh chives, to taste
olive oil or non-stick spray, for spritzing

Preheat oven to 325F.

Cut a slit into each chicken piece. Add garlic into each slit (I used 1 clove per breast half). Sprinkle onion powder, salt, & pepper to taste. Spray frying pan with just enough olive oil to coat, or use non-stick spray. Brown each side of the chicken (approx 2-3 minutes per side).

In a 9x13 pan, spray with nonstick spray or drizzle with olive oil. Cut onions, peppers, and squash into large pieces. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Add a fresh basil chifinade (I used approximately 6 leaves). Place the chicken on top of the veggies. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 40-45 minutes until veggies are to desired tenderness. Sprinkle with fresh cut chives and serve.

Serves 6.

Alternative to Cheating Stir Friy

Today, I splurged a bit (and isn't it sad that going out for sushi in my mind is considered "cheating") ~ anyway, white rice instead of brown and 1/2 of a terriyaki chicken salad. Not a bad splurge by any means, but tonight on the way home I had that little voice inside of saying, "Well you cheated already today ~ what's one more thing?" I came thisclose to stopping by The Mustard Seed and buying some pot stickers. Instead, I went to Albertsons and loaded up on veggies. Zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, bok choy, snap peas, mushrooms, and bell peppers. I came home and made a stir fry. Isn't it pretty???

Dev's Alternative to Cheating Stir Fry:
(The measurements are pretty close to accurate. One of these days I'll learn to measure and write things down)

1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
8 oz package mushrooms
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 small red onion
1 package of baby bok choy
8 oz sugar snap peas
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp freshly ground ginger
2-3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth
dash of red pepper flakes
arrowroot
mist of olive oil

Cut the chicken breast into one inch cubes. Mist a non-stick cooking surface with olive oil or nonstick spary. Brown the chicken until cooked through. Remove from pan.

Cut the vegetables so that they are all approximately the same size. Place them in the same pan that was used to fry the chicken. Cook just until tender (mine took between 5-7 minutes). Remove the vegetables and set aside.

In the same pan as was used previously, place chicken broth, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Simmer just long enough for the spices to blend. In a separate cup, mix approximately 2 tsp arrowroot powder with just enough water so that it stirs easily with a spoon. Stirring the broth mixture, add the arrowroot slowly until the sauce reaches a thicker consistency (to your liking).

Add vegetables and chicken back to pan and stir to coat. Makes 4 generous servings.