Apple Chicken Breasts

20150115_181247Chicken is cheap and has great protein, so we buy a lot of it. But chicken can easily become very boring. This is a fun change from a basic grilled chicken. I read a recipe similar to this in a “healthy” cookbook. I was shocked it was considered healthy with all the sugars and hydrogenated oils. Now you all know I love sugar, but it has a time and place, and I feel like a Tuesday night chicken dinner is not that place. I changed up some of the ingredients and left out the processed sugars and was very pleased with the results. My daughter loved it and since kids are always a good indication of whether a recipe is actually good, I’d say this recipe is a keeper.

Saute a sliced apple in the coconut oil until it’s tender. I used a Granny Smith apple because they were on sale but any apple will work fine. Set the apple slices aside in a bowl.

Top the chicken with the cinnamon, salt and pepper and add that to the pan with the rest of the coconut oil. Just brown both sides here. You’ll completely cook the chicken a little later.

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Now set the chicken aside. Don’t worry about keeping it warm as it’s going to go back in the pan later. Add the onion, cover it and cook it until it’s soft. If you don’t cover the pan, the onion with get brown and  crunchy. You don’t want that. You want the onion as soft as the apple.

Now add in the liquids and let that simmer a bit before adding the chicken back in. Once the chicken is completely cooked, add the apples and make sure everything is warm.

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We ate this over rice, but you can use quinoa or even pasta.

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Apple Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

  • 3 T coconut oil
  • 1 Apple; peeled, cored and sliced
  • Four chicken breasts
  • 1/4 t cinnamon
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1/4 t pepper
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1/2 C chicken broth
  • 1/4 C apple cider vinegar
  • Hot rice or Quinoa

Directions:

  • Heat 1 coconut oil in a large skillet.
  • Saute the apple until tender and brown (8-10 minutes) Set this aside in a bowl.
  • Combine the cinnamon, salt and pepper and sprinkle it on the chicken breasts
  • Add the remaining 2 T to the skillet and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side. Set aside on a plate
  • Add the onion, cover and cook about 8 minutes until soft. Add the broth and vinegar and simmer for about two minutes.
  • Add the chicken back to the pan and cook it until it’s done, occasionally basting the chicken with the pan juices. This should take about 7 minutes.
  • Add the apples back to the pan and cook until everything is warm.
  • Serve over rice or quinoa

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