Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is an eat from the pantry week which may sound boring to some but that is far from the truth! While flipping through my new Real Simple Magazine I found this recipe and knew I had to give it a try! We had several bags of chicken nuggets in our freezer from when I got them for free with coupon a while back. Plus, I have several bags of free rice with this coupon and ya'll know how I feel about Apricot Preserves! I added some pineapple juice and pineapple tidbits just because I felt like it and since I didn't have fresh ginger I used ground. I bet it is even better with the fresh! I plan on making this again, except next time I plan on dicing boneless, skinless chicken and sauteeing it with the celery. Here is my version of what I found in the magazine:

Ingredients
16 oz frozen chicken nuggets
1/2 cup Apricot preserves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons canola oil
5 large stalks celery, sliced
1/4 cup green onions
1/2 cup bell pepper strips (your choice)
8 oz snow peas
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or diced jalapeno)
1/4 cup pineapple tidbits and juice (from the can)
1 cup rice

Cook rice as directed and bake chicken nuggets as directed on the package.

Wisk together the preserves, vinegar, soy sauce and ginger. Set aside.

While chicken is baking, heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute celery (and chicken if using fresh) and bell pepper for 2-3 minutes.

Add snow peas, crushed red pepper and green onions. Saute 1-2 minutes longer. Once chicken is finished baking, add and heat through

Add sauce and bring to a boil. Once mixture boils turn down to simmer, add pineapples and pineapple juice. Serve over rice and enjoy.