Apricot Chicken With Carrots and Walnuts Recipe

I'm a firm believer in easy meals otherwise I end up serving Chinese takeout or pizza. I made this with frozen chicken breasts and simple ingredients.

Start cooking the brown rice

Put a bag of frozen, skinless chicken breasts in a heavy skillet and cover. Cook slowly, you have plenty of time since the brown rice takes awhile. I don't add fat or liquid since the chicken has so much additional moisture; if it's cooked slowly it doesn't need additional fat or liquid.

Peel and slice the carrots on the diagonal. I used about 20 carrots. Add them to the chicken when it's about half done. Cook with the cover on.

When the carrots and chicken is cooked through, add:
1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 cups apricot preserves (dried apricots would be terrific but I'm allergic to the preservatives.)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
pepper to taste

There should be excess liquid. Put a tablespoon of corn starch in a small cup and add a 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Stir them together to and add in to the pot. I like adding the corn starch in increments since it can become thicker than desired. Keep cooking and the corn starch will thicken the sauce. If it seems runny make more of the corn starch mixture.

Stir in 1 cup of walnuts and serve with the rice.