Chicken Breasts with Dijon Sauce

I usually double the sauce ingredients in order to have extra to serve over a side dish of steamed asparagus.

2 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and halved
salt, to taste
lemon pepper seasoning, to taste

3 tbsp margarine or butter

½ cup chicken broth

½ cup fat free half-and-half

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

½ tsp grated lemon peel (optional)

Sprinkle chicken with salt and lemon pepper seasoning.  In large skillet over medium heat, melt margarine; cook chicken about 5 minutes on each side.  Reduce heat; cover.  Simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is tender.  Remove to serving platter; keep warm.

Add chicken broth to skillet.  In small jar with tight fitting lid, combine half-and-half & flour; shake well.  Stir into broth; cook over medium heat until mixture is smooth and bubbly.  Stir in mustard, honey and lemon peel.  Spoon part of sauce over chicken; serve with remaining sauce.

Oven Sweet-and-Sour Chicken

The original recipe recommended serving the dish with red quinoa. But rice or barley can be substituted for the quinoa.

3 tbsp apricot preserves

2 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp water

½ tsp ginger, optional

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 large green pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large red sweet pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thick coins

6 scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk apricot preserves, ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and 1 tbsp water. Toss chicken with 3 tbsp of apricot mixture and place in prepared baking dish. Toss peppers, carrot and scallions with remaining mixture and spoon over chicken. Loosely tent with foil, venting at one end.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until chicken reaches 160 degrees and vegetables are tender.