Pineapple Chicken

This is one of those go-to recipes when I am short on time but still want to put together something that feels like a "real" meal.  The original recipe called for melted butter, too, but I quit using it and don't miss it at all.  The pineapple helps tenderize the chicken and keeps it nice and juicy!

This feeds my family of two plus a toddler for one meal - increase the amount of chicken as needed (and you can add a second can of pineapple if you're cooking for a crowd and need to stretch the sauce)

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, with juice
1/4 c. spicy brown mustard
1/4 c. chicken broth or white wine (I always use rice cooking wine, just because I always have a bottle open in my fridge)
1/4 c. honey
6 chicken tenderloins

Mix the first four ingredients in a small bowl.  Lay chicken in a 8x8x2 baking dish, and pour sauce over the top.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

Apricot Chicken

The first time I saw the recipe for Apricot Chicken, I thought it sounded like the most disgusting thing a person could ever eat. Probably doesn't help that I don't care for apricots! For some reason, though, I had all the ingredients in the house, so one day I gave it a shot. Delicious!

The really nice thing about cooking in the morning and eating in the evening is that your meat has extra marinating time. This usually makes everything taste better.

Apricot Chicken
Serves 4

1/2 package dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup apricot preserves (I like to use the all-fruit variety)
1/2 - 1 cup Russian salad dressing (depending on how saucy you like your chicken)
8 - 12 chicken tenderloins

In a small bowl, mix soup mix, apricot preserves, and salad dressing. Place chicken tenders in a glass baking dish, and pour soup mixture over the top, thoroughly coating each piece. Refrigerate until cooking time.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with your favorite sides (as you can see, we had this with roasted red potatoes and salad).