Don’t knock it until you try it

As it turns out, peaches and chicken are great friends.

By ANDREA HOEHNE

Pharos-Tribune lifestyle writer



Peaches and chicken. It sounds like an unlikely combination, doesn’t it? Usually “peaches and ...” would be followed by cream — not a small, clucking farm animal. And, to make the combination even more strange, add brown sugar and orange juice (two more sweet ingredients), and then onion soup mix. If you have reservations, it’s OK. So did I.

But, I went for it anyway. I had to go to the grocery store to get some chicken, because, after looking at the two large bags of frozen chicken in our freezer, I decided that it’s not good if chicken already looks cooked before it ever touches a frying pan. I think you might agree.

As luck would have it, boneless chicken breasts were on sale. I bought one-and-a-quarter pounds of chicken for $2.88. Can you believe that? I couldn’t, so I actually scoured the store for a sneaky grocer and asked for verbal verification. I may only be 23 years old, but I’ve already learned that nothing’s ever as good as it sounds. However, in this case, it was. The cheap chicken really was cheap.

I also needed onion soup mix, because I dumped my last envelope of it into a tub of sour cream over the holidays. (I don’t know that it’s any cheaper to get French onion dip that way, but it made me feel pretty domestic.)

I had the rest of the ingredients at home, so I made my way to the check-out lane, after picking up some completely necessary peanut-butter cookie dough ice cream, of course.

And, can you believe this: The express check-out lane was completely open. A sale that was really a sale, and a no-wait check-out lane — what a rare trip to the grocery store.

Once home, I boiled some water to cook the rice, and got out a pan to cook the chicken. This meal should work out perfectly — about 30 minutes for the rice, and about the same for the chicken mixture. I’m not quite that good yet, but I have high hopes for you.

After cooking the chicken in some extra virgin olive oil, I put it in a small baking dish with the lid on to keep it warm. Then, I just added the peaches and syrup, brown sugar, orange juice and onion soup mix to the same pan with a little bit of the oil still in it.

Now, this is why I really enjoy Linda, the owner of this recipe. I don’t know you Linda, but I thank you for putting the size of the can of peaches in the recipe, as opposed to just “one can of peaches.” I had a large can of peaches, 29 ounces to be exact. Without your measurement, I would have been lost.

After boiling the mixture for two minutes, I returned the chicken and simmered it all together for 15 minutes. The sauce thickened up a bit, and I poured a spoonful of the chicken and strange stuff over a spoonful of rice.

Then, I tried it. Any reservations I previously had were gone with the first bite.



Linda’s Peachy Chicken

1 pound boneless skinless chicken strips

Oil or butter

1-15 1/4 ounce can of peaches and syrup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

1 envelope onion soup mix

Long grain rice



Brown chicken in skillet with oil and butter. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Add one 15 1/4 ounce can of peaches and syrup to skillet with brown sugar, orange juice and onion soup mix. Stir until combined and boil for two minutes. Return chicken to pan and simmer uncovered 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over hot, cooked, long grain rice. (I like to cut up the chicken strips.)



Andrea Hoehne may be reached at 732-5143 or via e-mail at andrea.hoehne@pharostribune.com

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