Chicken with Cherry Pineapple Sauce

This is something different to make with chicken.  The recipe called for boneless chicken breasts but I had thighs. Moreover, I still have several pounds of dry cherries to use and this recipe called for dried cherries.  Everything that was needed I had on hand except sweet and sour sauce so I made my own using the pineapple juice. Since these were thighs I baked this in the oven instead of making it on top of the stove. The original recipe called for frying the breast to brown them then adding the sauce and fruit to simmer. The chicken browned nicely in the oven and thighs stew well in the oven.

I had received a 10 pound of frozen leg quarters that I thawed out because this large chunk would never of gone into my freezer that way. So I was also making three other chicken dishes at the same time and they all went into the oven at the same time.  Now I have 3 meals cooked in the freezer to microwave and serve. The 4th chicken dish we had for dinner.

• Servings: 4 servings
• Time: 45 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs
• 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks (reserve juice for sauce)
• sweet and sour sauce*
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 2 green onion finely chopped
• Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Directions:

Place thighs in a 9 inch square baking pan that is lined with aluminum foil. Top with all the other ingredients.  Cover the baking pan with foil and seal. Uncover the pan for the last 15 minutes of baking time to brown the meat.  Bake for 45 minutes or until done.

Sweet and Sour Sauce 

• 3 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Whisk everything in a bowl and add to chicken.

You can use this recipe to make regular sauce by using just 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and simmering in a small sauce pan. Stir constantly over medium heat until thickened.