Training: After a few weeks of holidays, rich food and lots of indulgence, I have been keen to get back to my normal routine. And my plan to do so? Healthy food, lots of water and a regular workout sessions! Simple yet effective. This week certainly started on the right foot when I headed to my morning Body Pump class. 1 hour of weights and I was ready to take on the day – albeit with shaaaaaaaky legs. Gotta love squats! Meals: My quest for routine continued when I arrived home this evening after a busy day at work. Without hesitation, I turned to the Mystery Box for dinner inspiration. The chosen ingredient…. 
Apricot! 
Did you know? Apricots are originally from China but arrived in Europe via Armenia. Apricots are full of dietary fibre and beta-carotene, and are a great source of vitamin A, C, magnesium and potassium. While I didn’t have any fresh apricots on hand, I did have a bag of dried apricots. So, with dried apricots, a desire to create a healthy (yet tasty) dinner and this recipe for inspiration, my ‘apricot chicken’ dish was born. Starting with a bean mixture made with butter beans, pepitas, onion and thyme – sautéed until soft. 
Then mashed with diced dried apricots and parmesan cheese (instead of feta). I left out the nuts. 
Spooned into an organic chicken breast – that I had sliced through the middle. Then closed and oven baked for 25 minutes until cooked through. 
Topped with a sprinkle of fresh thyme. 
And served alongside a pile of steamed broccoli. 
I am not normally one to cook with fruit when making ‘savoury’ dishes, but I was really pleased with how this tasty little chicken dish turned out . The apricots added a lovely sweetness to the chicken, without being sickly sweet, perhaps mellowed by the herbed bean filling. 
So simple, yet tasty and healthy! I was still a little peckish after dinner so I broke into a punnet of fresh strawberries and blueberries for dessert. 
Topped with yoghurt and shredded coconut. The perfect fuel for a task I was working on after dinner. I’ll give you a hint…. 
Looks complicated huh!? All will be revealed tomorrow… What about you? How do you like to cook with apricots? Happy Baking 🙂
oh dear, look forward to the revealing of your chart!
Looks like a training schedule 🙂
ooh I never realized this until right now but I've never cooked with apricots- great idea, I'm sure they add a lot of flavor!
this might be a favorite of mine. I love apricots and this dish looks amazing!!! Way to go Lisa.
Oooh… longer triathlon time? 🙂
I like snacking on dried apricots but dont cook with them often
The chart looks very interesting, I am looking foward to hearing more about it
I've rarely cooked with apricots, seeing as my mum used to make a chicken and apricot casserole that was a bit beyond my 10-y-o tastes 😉 I do have a recipe for an apricot souffle somewhere, though…
I love the look of this dish. Apricots translate well into the savoury realm don't they. I grew up with a stew of tinned apricots and nectar and chicken pieces as our take on apricot chicken.(not as bad as it sounds!)This seems like a lovely light version. Yummm…
Loving the photos on this post. They look like they've been progressively getting better over the months since EatDrinkBlog. They are really well exposed – something I have heaps of trouble with in our kitchen. What's your trick? What light do you shoot these under?
I discovered the joys of apricots this past summer! I love them dried or fresh. This stuffed chicken looks phenomenal!!
How clever! A nice twist on apricot chicken 🙂 I can't figure out that chart except to say that it looks like exercise and your resting heartbeat scores! can't wait to hear all about it!
I haven't often cooked with apricots – but I do like reconstituting the Turkish apricots and using them in oatmeal or cooked breakfast cereal.
This dish looks gourmet!
That stuffed chicken looks awesome. Stuffing anything makes it seem a million times fancier… delish!
what a creative way to use those apricots–looks great! that looks like some tri training right there 😉
Call me old fashioned (well.., not out loud OK) but I do like the old chicken & apricot combination but your take on it is really interesting and I'm going to be a copy cat & try this out this week. I've got a couple of chicken breasts in the freezer & every-time I look at them I'm uninspired.., but this little number has their name written all over it 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers Anna
I've never actually cooked with apricot before. In fact the only apricots I know are the dried versions.
How interesting. Looks like I'll need to experiment a bit more!