Have you noticed that food bloggers can over complicate recipes? Sometimes there are just too many flavors going on in one thing. Hey, I am guilty of it too. But, that is how I cook sometimes. I will throw in a dash of this, a sprinkle of that and when it’s time to re-write the recipe I realize it looks like a lot of work.

Sometimes I just need to stop trying to create the most unique and fabulous dish, and trust the family recipes. After all, they wouldn’t survive the generations if they weren’t delicious. I work with a great gal named Darla (which is such a cute name, in my opinion) and she showed me her Mom’s recipe for Polynesian Chicken. I had all the ingredients on hand and it looked really tasty.

I realized when I was finished cooking that this is another one pot meal. I made one skillet chicken with spinach and mushrooms the other night and loved the quick clean up. No wonder I have been so happy lately, there have been less dishes to put up!

There were just a few changes I made to the recipe. First, the recipe called for canned peach slices and all I had was sugar-free peach chunks. I don’t think this affected the flavor at all, the sauce was still sticky sweet. This made the sauce a bit lower calorie though and I think the peach chunks were also easier to eat rather than peach slices. I also served the chicken over brown rice instead of white rice. The nutty brown rice went well with the soft vegetable and sweet chicken.

Polynesian Chicken
yield: 4 servings

2 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
2 TBS Soy Sauce
3 TBS Cornstarch
4 Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless
Salt, Pepper
2 TBS Olive Oil
1 Bell Pepper, thin slices
1 Onion, thin slices
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes
1 can Sliced Peaches (I used Sugar free chunks)
Cooked Rice (I prepared Brown Rice)

1. Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch. Open the peaches and drain the syrup into a separate container. Set aside.
2. Cut the chicken breast in large cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Add the 2 TBS olive oil to the pan and add chicken. Cook for at least 6 minutes until all sides of the chicken are browned and chicken is cooked all the way through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4. Add the pepper and onion slices to the pan and turn heat to medium low. Cook at least 10 minutes, until vegetables are soft and aromatic. Remove vegetables from the pan.
5. Whisk together the soy sauce mixture with the reserved peach juice. The mixture will appear milky due to the cornstarch. Add to the pan and turn on low. Stir until transparent and thick.
6. Add the tomatoes and peaches to the sauce and leave on low heat for at least 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the tomatoes start to look a little wrinkled, add the chicken and vegetables to the pan and gently toss in the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
7. Serve over white or brown rice.

Printable recipe can be found here.

This is a great weeknight dinner. It is quick to put together and prep is minimal, not to mention the flavors are simple and comforting. I have always enjoyed orange chicken and this is very similar, except the sweetness in the sauce comes from peach juice. I don’t know how exactly this is Polynesian but I don’t care… it just tastes so good!