Savory Peach Chicken

Intentions vs reality...it's the yin and the yang in my kitchen.  My produce obsession invariably causes me to purchase way more produce than I know what to do with.  Recently I purchased 6 lbs of ginormous "local" peaches because I was sad at missing the Colorado Palisades peach season and these peaches were just as big...and I was hoping just as flavorful, juicy and sweet.  Not so much as it turns out.  I then thought I'd make peach jam or even try my hand at canning peach pie filling with the less than exciting peaches.

Brooklyn had other plans.  A fair amount of $$$$ handed over to the vet over the weekend and another emergency trip this morning...we played it rather chill in this house today with the little peanut sleeping next to me while I worked from home. Finding the motivation to make jam or pie was a little too ambitious after the emotional roller coaster of the vet visits, but I knew I had to use up at least some of the peaches.

I'd seen this recipe for peach chicken in Ellie Krieger's So Easy cookbook.  I love her.  If I had a billion dollars I'd hire a personal nutritionist to help me plan my meals.  And unlike tons of other healthy recipes, hers are always spot on in flavor-I've never made anything I didn't love.  Okay, except maybe those energy bars from a couple of years back.  This peach chicken was delish though--juicy, fruity and perfect served with rice.  It was a teeny tiny bit too sweet for me but that can easily be fixed by leaving out the brown sugar in the recipe. 

I added one small red onion diced to mine because I love the crisp crunch of slightly cooked onions.  These were not in the original recipe and are of course optional.  

Braising pans are one of my favorites.  Not sure what I love so much about it but even the shape is comforting to me along with the foods that long to be cooked in a braising pan. 

Savory Peach Chicken
from So Easy by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 small red onion (optional)
• 4 large firm-ripe peaches, cut into 1/4-inch slices, or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peaches, (about 4 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and orange juice in a small bowl and set aside. When the chicken is browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add sliced onions and then the chicken broth, the soy sauce mixture, and the peaches to the pan. Turn the heat up to high and cook, uncovered, for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is nicely thickened and the peaches soften. Add the chicken back to the pan with the sauce, turn the heat down to moderate-low, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
3. In the meantime, toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Serve the chicken topped with the sauce and sprinkled with the toasted almonds.