Saturday, October 9, 2010

Sweet Tooth Chicken Breast

Every fall I look forward to pork cooked with apples. Recently, I decided to try chicken breasts with apples. When I was a kid, a family friend used to cook apple slices in a skillet with brown sugar. It's a popular southern dish that I adored. It can be a bit too sweet, so even though I had it in mind when I made this, I went easy on the sugar. You may wish to reduce the sugar further, depending on your personal taste.

Like everyone else, I have a lot going on, so I didn't want a complicated or time-consuming dish, nor one that would require a special trip to the grocery store. Consequently, this is a quick weeknight dinner. Peeling and slicing the apples is the hardest part!


olive oil
3 or 4 skinless chicken breasts
4 apples (one apple per serving, plus one extra apple)
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used light brown, but dark brown would work, too)
paprika
salt
2 tablespoons butter, cut into little pieces

Preheat the oven to 400. Peel and slice the apples. Chop the pecans.

Using mere drops of olive oil, grease the bottom of your baking pan. Lay the chicken breasts on the greased pan. Sprinkle with paprika. Scatter the apple slices around and on top of the apples. Sprinkle with the pecans, and then the sugar. Dot with butter.

Put a lid on the pan or cover with aluminum foil. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft and the chicken breast isn't pink inside.

Enjoy!

12 comments:

  1. Wow, this sounds and looks yummy. Apples are a favorite this time of year so I'll have to give this a try. Thanks.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh goodness...yes, I remember these from when I was a kid! But I haven't had the dish for a million years. Thanks for the reminder...this will have to go on my cooking plan for next week!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mason, they went faster than I expected. And it's so easy.

    Elizabeth, I think it's a very child-friendly dish. What kid doesn't love sugar and apples?

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so making this. Apples are one of the best parts of autumn and cooking with them? YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, yum! Yum, yum, yum. I do this with pork. Haven't done with chicken.
    Yum!

    ~Avery

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've done pork with apples, but never chicken. This sounds divine! thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jenn, one of the nice things is that you can use up apples that have gone a little bit mealy. When they're cooked, you can't tell.

    Avery and Kaye, I always make my pork and apples in a skillet. I was looking for an even easier method and chicken breasts lend themselves to baking so nicely.

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  8. I do this with pork but never considered chicken! Great idea-especially since one daughter in law doesn't eat pork(or beef).
    Caryn in St.Louis

    ReplyDelete
  9. My mom used to make this with pork sausage, in a skillet. One of my childhood favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just love recipes like this that make good use of fruit that's become too ripe or become (as you mentioned) mealy. Definitely going in my recipe file! Thanks, Krista, and have a great weekend.

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  11. Caryn, it worked well with the chicken. Just be sure it doesn't cook too long or it will get tough.

    Judy, that sounds great. Apples and sausage -- yum.

    Cleo, we all end up with mealy apples sometime. It's odd that you can't tell they're mealy when they're cooked!

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yum. I can't wait to try this. I am always on the lookout for good chicken recipes.

    ReplyDelete