Apricot Chicken & A New Beginin'

Oh.. oh hey, everyone! Long time, (absolutely) no writing. My bad...

So actually, I knew I wasn't going to write a lot after my last post. I had a major life event take place and I was a tad bit busy making sure all went according to plan for the big day to really focus on documenting everything myself.

Since we last "spoke" I've officially become Mrs. Lighty (the 3rd, as I like to call myself), enjoyed two fantastic vacations with my hubster, one being our amazing honeymoon, and started officially, and purposefully decorating our home. It's so much fun!

Before I get into the de-licious recipe I whipped up, I'll share with you a few amazing photos of life thus far.

The "I Do's":

The Honeymoon Shenanigans:

Outside our hotel, "The House". We highly recommend it!

Bahamas for Memorial Day Weekend:

Okay, now on to the yummy stuff. In celebration of writing again, I busted out our new formal dishes to make tonight's dinner a little bit more shmanzy.

Apricot-Glazed Chicken Thighs with Toasted Panko Green Beans

I found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens May issue and decided to give it a go. Honestly, it looked super easy and called for ingredients I already had in my pantry, so that's why I decide to earmark the page and save it for a 'rainy night' (literally).

Ingredients

For Chicken:

1/4 cup apricot spreadable fruit
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp of soy sauce
2 Tbsp of minced ginger
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup cider vinegar
8 bone in chicken things (I used chicken breast I had in my freezer)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a small saucepan, combine apricot spread, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and cayenne over medium-low heat. Cook until the apricot spread is melted.
Remove and stir in vinegar. Set aside to cool.
Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with foil and arrange the chicken on the pan. Pour the glaze over the chicken, turning pieces to coat on each side.
If you decided to use bone-in chicken thighs, arrange the chicken so that the skin sides up.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Brush with glaze two times throughout baking.

For Green Beans:

1 1/2 lb of green beans
2 Tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of Panko crumbs (I didn't have Panko, so I used regular breadcrumbs)
2 tsp of lemon zest
2 tsp of chopped fresh tarragon

Steps:

Preheat oven to 400 F. If you're serving these with the Apricot chicken, then your oven should already be set. :)
Rinse beans in colander. Spread the wet beans on a baking sheet sprayed with a light coat of cooking spray.
Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Toss to coat.
Spread evenly on tray and roast for 20 minutes. I went ahead and put mine in the oven along with my baking chicken.
While the beans are roasting, heat the remaining Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic. Add Panko and stir for about 2 minutes. Then, add zest, tarragon, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
When the beans are finished roasting, toss in Panko mixture and serve.