Apricot Baked Chicken with Rice – super easy dinner idea that everyone will love, especially the kids!
As you know, I am a mom of three. And as any mom out there, I have days when I struggle with dinner, especially if I want to try something new or introduce new food into their diet. But I have few that are always a hit.
This is one of them: Apricot Baked Chicken with Rice.
I chose chicken drumsticks for this post because my kids love drumsticks! There is just something fun about chomping on a chicken piece that you can hold in your hand!
This chicken dinner cannot be easier. You fry up all of the pieces in a skillet, add the sweet sauce and finish it off in the oven. The apricot and orange sauce is absolutely delicious! It’s bound to be a hit!
Let’s talk about the rice for a second. My kids love rice! I make rice few times a week. I also try to involve my kiddos in making the dinner. Our 8-year-old is the biggest help as she can reach the counters and even starts to cut veggies (with safety knives of course!). But rice can be easily burned during cooking so I wanted to find an easy way for my kids to be able to make a side for one of their favorite dinners. Uncle Ben’s to the rescue! The Ready Rice from Uncle Ben’s takes only 90 seconds to cook in the microwave! Talk about speedy!
- 5 chicken drumsticks skin off
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup apricot preserves
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 packages Uncle Ben's Ready Rice
- In a large shallow dish, mix flour with pepper and salt.
- Drizzle the olive oil over a large skillet. Place over medium heat.
- Dredge all pieces of chicken in the flour. Place on a plate. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together apricot preserves and orange juice.
- In a preheated skillet, brown the chicken pieces on all sides.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Arrange browned chicken pieces in the skillet. Pour the apricot and orange juice mixture over the chicken.
- Place the skillet in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the rice according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Serve chicken with rice and a side of a vegetable.
Recipe source: CrunchyCreamySweet.com
As a huge advocate of involving kids in the kitchen and making a dinner time a family affair, I love when we can use products that are easy for kids to prepare. And there is no sacrifice in flavor! What’s not to love!
Uncle Ben’s is running a The Ben’s Beginners ™ Cooking Contest. It starts on August 13th. You can enter a video of your sweet little ones helping in the kitchen. The prize: $15,000 for your family and a $30,000 cafeteria makeover for your school!
Cooking with your children makes for a great beginning!
wearenotmartha says
Ooh I love the idea of an apricot chicken! And I’m always up for rice 🙂
Sues
Savory Simple says
This sounds so flavorful!
Amy {Very Culinary} says
I could easily make a meal out of rice all by itself. But I’ll take the chicken, too. Sounds so delicious!