People ask me all the time where I get ideas for what to make for dinner.
Inspiration comes from far and wide. From other bloggers and food websites, to meals I’ve had on vacation, and what’s on sale at the grocery store or in season at the Farmers’ Market at the moment.
Sometimes the best inspiration comes from the most unlikely of sources…like the back of a vinegar bottle, for instance.
Really! See, while Ben was busy dousing his fish & chips with malt vinegar at an Irish Pub in the NY NY Hotel this Spring in Vegas, I caught a glimpse of the back of the vinegar bottle.
Peachy Chicken, it read. Intrigued, I tried to catch a glimpse of the recipe as he shook the bottle up and down, up and down, over and over and over! (Ben likes vinegar. 
) Give that to me! I exclaimed, as I pried the vinegar bottle from his sour death grip!
Peachy Chicken, I thought, hmmmm, I’m intrigued… I like peaches, I like chicken – I bet I would really like Peachy Chicken! Wait…there’s canned peach liquid in this recipe. I might as well pour corn syrup straight down my throat. Gross. Ew, plus orange juice concentrate. More sugar! Ben hates sweet chicken too. What to do, what to do…
(insert taking snapshot of the back of the bottle here.)
Eh, I’ll figure this out later. I’m in Vegas and this Jeremiah Weed isn’t going to drink itself. Yhatzee!
Well almost 4 months later, I’ve finally “figured it out” and made a healthier version of the recipe on the back of the Vegas vinegar bottle – Savory Peach Chicken!
This was better than I ever imagined, and not anywhere near as sweet as “Peachy Chicken” would have been.
It might be my new favorite whole chicken breast recipe, actually (a title previously held by Lemon Brown Sugar Chicken!) plus Ben loved it too!
I started by pounding a couple Just Bare Chicken Breasts until they were a uniform thickness.
Next I seasoned them with salt & pepper. Tip: I tend to have a wild hand with spices – ie they go everywhere when I use them – so I like to spice my meat/veggies/etc in the sink. That way I don’t need to wipe down dirty countertops, I can just rinse the rogue spices down the drain!
Next I seared the chicken breasts in a wee bit of extra virgin olive oil, until they were golden brown on one side.
Then I flipped and did the same on the other side. I didn’t cook the chicken all the way through – just gave it some color.
(PS I am this excited about the new splatter shield I picked up at the grocery store a couple weeks ago. It was like, $3 and works like a charm! 
)
After the chicken breasts were browned on both sides, I removed them to a plate, and aside for the time being. Then I made a delectable sauce for the dish, made up of brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh orange juice and chicken broth,
and sliced up two juicy organic peaches. Oooo, I wanted a slice so bad! 
Next, I quickly sautéed some microplaned ginger and garlic in the hot skillet, before adding the sauce and peaches in.
See?
The peaches and sauce got soft and reduced for a bit, before I nestled the chicken back in the pan,
and popped the lid on top.
5 minutes later we were ready to rock!
Luscious, elegant, savory and just a hint of sweet. Spectacular!
I was afraid the peaches would be mealy or mushy as they cooked down – instead they turned velvety and practically melted in my mouth after poaching in the savory soy sauce and chicken broth for just over 10 minutes.
Savory Peach Chicken
Measurements adapted from Ellie Krieger
Serves 2.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 chicken breasts, pounded to uniform thickness
salt & pepper
1″ knob fresh ginger, grated or finely minced
2 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
2 organic peaches, sliced thin
Directions:
1. Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, orange juice and chicken broth in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Preheat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper, then place in the hot skillet. Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, ~4 minutes total. Chicken will not be cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside.
3. Add ginger and garlic to the hot pan and stir constantly for no more than 10 seconds. Add the brown sugar/chicken broth mixture and sliced peaches to the pan, and increase heat to high. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring once or twice, until sauce has thickened and peaches start to become soft.
4. Nestle chicken back into the skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, place a lid on top and cook for 5 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve on top of brown rice cooked in chicken broth.
When inspiration strikes – find a way to make it work for you!
Lately, as you know, inspiration has also been coming fast and hard from Pinterest. Today I found a recipe so enticing that I nearly came home at lunch to make them. No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies!!!
Healthy(ish) and EASY, No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies, to boot! All you do is process 1 cup of almonds in a food processor until finely ground.
Add in 1 cup chopped medjool dates, a pinch of salt,
1/2 cup peanut butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract,
then whir ’til everything comes together.
Shape into balls,
then give them that signature criss-
cross-
shape!
Whole Family Fare REALLY did it with this one!
They taste exactly like peanut butter cookie dough – I swear to you! Go make some right now and see for yourself!
Wooo – inspiration is a fabulous thing indeed. I am stuffed and sooo satisfied tonight!
The evening is cooling down so Ben and I are going to go on a nice long walk. Our summer days are numbered, so we’re tying to make the most of ‘em.
Have a wonderful night!
~~~~~
Who/what inspires you? In cooking/life/whatever!
THat chicken sounds awesome! I recently made a salad with grilled peaches- YUM! But I just remembered peach BURGERS I made last summer that were awesome- slightly sweet, but not so much so that it overpowered an otherwise savory dinner. I glean inspiration from everything! YOU, other blogs, cookbooks, regular books, what I see, what I eat in restaurants… things people mention!
I subscribe to a few cooking magazines, and I LOVE getting them in the mail–I dog-ear TONS of recipes to try! My husband’s got slightly more exotic tastes than I do, so he’s always asking me to try things that I wouldn’t normally think of.
That chicken looks wonderful! Might have to try it next week. Enjoy your walk in the beautiful weather! It feels like fall here, we even had chili for supper.
Yum to both of those! And great tip for seasoning things, I too get a little crazy with the spices and I have never thought of that. You just saved me some extra counter cleaning
I was just thinking the same thing! Why didn’t I think of that?
Both recipes looks fantastic!!
I am inspired by my Mom and lots of magazines. Something though I’m inspired by what I see in the grocery store.
oooh yum! the funny thing is that i saw that original vinegar bottle recipe for peachy chicken in a magazine awhile ago and tore it out.
haha
MMMM. Both of these recipes looks fantastic!
I get my inspiration from food blogs and cooking magazines. If I see something in the store that I want to cook, I usually refer to either of those two things
What a great recipe! I love cooked peaches in dishes. I usually get most of my ideas from other blogs or cooking websites. Or sometimes I just simply come up with them in my head. Those are usually the best.
Oh my gosh! All the food in this post is UNREAL. It looks SO delicious!
Beautiful dish!
I’m most inspired by whats growing in my garden…and the tons of awesome food blogs/websites out there (yours included).
Those cookies look really good! I love Pinterest! It is a inspiration for me right now
Blogs are also a huge inspiration to me!
I have that same splatter screen. Hy-Vee? Sometimes, the handle gets a bit hot with grease, but it’s pretty good.
Reading blogs never ceases to inspire me! The trick is just BEING INSPIRED, not feeling like every recipe has to be carbon copied!
This chicken dish looks amazing! I love peaches so I can only imagine how great this tastes with chicken. Yum!
I watch the Food Network religiously! That is what inspires me. Watching chefs who truly love what they do for a living, makes me want to keep going for my dreams.
You have great inspirations and creativity! I want both of these
I always read the back of packages on bottles for recipes too! I have also checked product websites for recipes–you never know what you will find!
Those cookies look delicious!
I’ve been using peaches in savory cooking lately and loving it! We actually recently made salads with grilled nectarines (called for peaches but we were out) and chicken–YUM!
your inspiration post has inspired me! not for the peachy chicken (although yeah, i will be making that) but for your hair in the picture of you kissing the malt beverage.
your hair is always so cute but it’s absolutely adorable in that pic. i printed it and will be showing it to my hair girl tomorrow. thanks for the inspiration!!
That chicken looks like a perfect summer dish!
COOOKIES!! You have awoken the Cookie Monster within me.
Slash I want dat chicken. Now that I’m eating whatever I want, you should cook for me!!! <3
How many cookies did the recipe make? They look fabulous!
About 18!
Um, I think you are my new inspiration
I made the Savory Peach Chicken tonight and my family loved it!
[...] I can’t at ALL take credit for this “recipe”. I started it based on Kristin’s no bake cookie post yesterday, and incorporated the idea of the oat flour from Averie. I’m sure Katie has made [...]
I have also gotten inspiration from the package of BARE chicken–it was a yummy recipe!
In general, I get inspiration from my dogs. They live life with such joy, focusing wholly on the present. Now that’s inspiration!
Holy friggin’ awesome! I just made those no-bake PB cookies and they’re amazing! I have to control myself to keep from going back for more, and my kids are all over me asking for another one every five minutes. It’s a hit here!
Glad you enjoyed them as much as I did!
[...] Peach Chicken (adapted from Kristin of Iowa Girl Eats blog) [...]
[...] Winner Chicken Dinner – You can find the recipe here. Definitely on the “make again” [...]
thanks for this lovely peachy chicken recipe
you’ve inspired me!
I just made a sandwich with savory basalmic vinegar grilled nectarines, brown sugar caramelized walnuts, and fresh spinach/arugula!
I *finally* got to make this for dinner tonight! It’s been winter here and I’ve desperately been waiting for the new season of peaches to arrive so I could make it and it was totally worth the wait!! (And the cost of the just arrived for the season peaches!).
I had to sub verjuice for the rice vinegar (should check my use by dates more often
). The husband absolutely loved it too, said the sauce really made the dish. So thank you so much for sharing! This one is definitely going to be served up more often around here.
[...] thought the peaches would be good with chicken. I looked up some recipes and found this recipe from Iowa Girl Eats. The mixture of orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar intrigued me- I [...]
Just made this – it was delicious! Loved the tasty, sour/sweet/tangy sauce. With it being the middle of winter and definitely not peach season, I bought a bag of frozen peaches from Whole Foods – they worked perfectly. (Upped the recipe for 3 chicken breasts & used ~2/3 16oz bag of peaches)