Hello, and happy Sunday! Hope you had a nice weekend!

Friday afternoon my best girlfriends and I road tripped up north to St. Paul, Minnesota to meet some more of my best girlfriends for a baby shower! It seems I am up to my ears in babies these days!

My beautiful friend Ellen will welcome her first child in just over a month, and we couldn’t have been happier to celebrate with her. (BTW can we all please acknowledge the faux fur baby coat she received in the picture below?! )

 

Ellen and I, and the group of girls above, have been friends since high school, and are lucky to have remained close over the years. It’s been great being able to get together often over the past decade since high school at weddings and baby showers. I don’t ever want it to end!

The girls and I reluctantly parted ways and drove back Saturday evening, but I’m glad we did. It’s always nice to have the whole day on Sunday to spend at home, especially when it’s as nice as it was today. Hot, sunny, and over 90 degrees!

I attempted to beat the heat by hitting the trail early this morning for a long run. I didn’t get further than 50 yards when the unmistakable smell of lilacs hit me. Sure enough, about 30 seconds later I ran right past a whole clump of ‘em, followed by another one…then another one…then another one. Ahhh, that scent is one of my favorite things about spring. Surely it means the warm weather is here to stay, right?!

After cleaning up, Ben and I went to visit our new new niece Evie, Finn, my sister-in-law and brother for a couple hours. They are all doing so well, and Finn is the BEST big brother. “This is my baby sister!” he says as he shows her off in between kisses.

After we got home, I got to work on dinner, which was easy, peasy – Gingery Chicken with Peaches.

This is an adaptation of a Martha Stewart recipe, which combines the spicy flavors of fresh ginger and red onions, with frozen peaches and brown sugar. Kind of got that savory-sweet thang goin’ on, which I just love.

Fresh peaches are a total summer thing, but since it felt so much like summer today, I thought it was only appropriate to give this super easy dish using it’s frozen brethren a whirl.

Start by pounding 1lb chicken breasts to a uniform thickness. 1lb is about 2 large chicken breasts, or 3 small-medium sized ones.

Season both sides with salt & pepper, then place the chicken breasts in a large Ziplock bag with a super yummy marinade.

In the mix:

• Brown sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Fresh ginger
• Salt
• Pepper

Marinate the chicken for 15 minutes, or up to an hour.

Meanwhile, cut 1 large red onion in half, then cut each half into 1/4″ slices.

To the slices, add 1lb (1 bag) frozen peaches.

Add flavorings that were also in the marinade like ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, vegetable & sesame oil, then sprinkle in some red pepper flakes, and toss with your hands to combine.

Pour the seasoned peaches and onions into a casserole dish, nestle the marinated chicken in the middle, then bake for 25 minutes.

Done and done!

Place the chicken, peaches and onions atop a bed of rice (I used brown basmati) and drizzle with the flavor-packed sauce from the casserole dish. Mega yum!

Gingery Chicken with Peaches

Print this recipe!

Serves 4

Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

1 bag (1lb) frozen peaches, unthawed

1 red onion, halved and sliced 1/4″ inch thick

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, micro planed or finely minced

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

cooked brown or white rice

For the marinade:

1lb chicken breasts

salt & pepper

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, micro planed or finely minced

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper. Combine ingredients for marinade in a large zip lock bag. Add chicken and marinate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place frozen peaches and onions in a large bowl then add ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red-pepper flakes, and toss to coat. Pour into a non-stick sprayed 9×13 casserole dish. Nestle marinated chicken into the peaches and onions, and roast until chicken is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.

I HEART baked chicken – it is so incredibly moist and tender.

The peaches and onions were the perfect yin and yang, flavor wise, and caramelized in the hot oven creating a mouthwatering sauce.

The GINGER though – so good! What is it about ginger that I am totally loving these days?! I think it’s because it gives so much flavor to a dish, without having to add a lot of fat or calories. Or something. Who knows!

Well, the sidewalks are calling! Ben and I are off on a Sunday evening stroll. Hope you had a wonderful weekend everyone!