Almond Cranberry Chicken

A friend of mine suggested I make this dish from Taste of Home. I figured, tis the season for cranberries, so why not?! My husband and I both enjoy almonds and cranberries, so it seemed a good fit. Per usual, I tweaked the recipe to what I had on hand. I would certainly make this again.

I'll tell you what I tweaked and what I did again after you read the recipe:

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions

• Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. In a large resealable bag, combine the flour, salt and cayenne; add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown chicken in butter over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.
• In the same skillet, combine the cranberries, water, brown sugar, vinegar and orange peel. Bring to a boil; cook for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Spoon over chicken; sprinkle with almonds. Yield: 6 servings.

I used chicken tenders, therefore I did not need to flatten them. I added a dash more of cayenne because we like it hot. Oh and while I was cooking the chicken, I added just a little white cooking wine to the pan for some added flavor. I used canola oil (about 2 tbsp), instead of butter, to make it a little more healthy.

I only had dried cranberries and they worked fine. They were a great texture, a little mushy, in contract with the chicken and almonds. I only had white wine vinegar on hand, so I used that. I didn't have an orange, but a clementine to zest. Finally, I used about 1/3 cup brown sugar, and not the 1/2 that the recipe calls for. I think the dried cranberries offered enough sweetness on their own to hold back on the sugar.

All in all, this was a great dish. My husband commented that it tasted somewhat like a Chinese dish. I completely disagreed. It was very easy to make and pretty healthy, which is always an added bonus! Let me know if you give it a try!