Recipe Rehab: Baked Chicken and Peaches

Edith writes with a family-favorite recipe for fried chicken baked with peaches and canned biscuits. She invented this recipe many years ago for a hungry family (including three teenage boys!) with ingredients she had on hand in her cupboard. With the fried chicken and instant biscuits, this recipe is full of extra fat and calories that even growing teenage boys don't need. Edith would love to continue the tradition of making this dish for her grandchildren, but is concerned about the large amount of oil needed to fry the chicken and make the gravy.

I will rehab the recipe by browning the chicken in a little olive oil before putting it in the oven, rather than oven frying it in lots of oil. This adds flavor without adding a lot of extra calories. Since canned biscuits are low in fiber and are often made with lard (which is high in saturated fat) or vegetable shortening (which contains trans fats), I will substitute brown rice instead of biscuits in this recipe. I love the idea of a sweet peach sauce to top off the dish, so I will keep the canned peaches, but thicken the sauce with cornstarch and add cinnamon and cloves for more flavor. Feel free to use fresh peaches when they are in season and leave the skin on for extra fiber. My family loved this new way to cook chicken and I'm sure yours will too.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1.5 cups uncooked brown rice
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 cups water
• 2 (14 oz.) canned peaches, packed in juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a skillet. Dredge the chicken in the bread crumbs and then put them in the hot skillet. Brown chicken on all sides. (Don't worry about cooking through as we will bake the chicken.)

2. Combine the rice, poultry seasoning, pepper, milk and water. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Top with chicken. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes.

3. While the chicken and rice are baking, prepare the peach sauce on the stove top. In a small pot, add the juice from the drained peaches, honey, vinegar, cornstarch, cinnamon and cloves. Cook until thickened. Add the peaches and stir to coat.

4. When the chicken is finished cooking, pour the peaches and sauce over the casserole. Bake an additional five minutes until the peaches are heated through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Serves: 6

Nutritional Content (per serving): 462 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 62 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 41 g protein, 151 mg sodium, 100 mg calcium

For another healthy chicken dish, try my Chicken Pot Pie recipe rehab.

Readers, I would love to hear from you! Please send me your favorite fattening recipes that need a RECIPE REHAB! Everything from your mom's meatloaf to your kid's favorite dessert -- let me lighten it up.

Celebrity dietitian and motivational life coach Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of www.ffactordiet.com and founder of www.skinnyandthecity.com, has helped thousands of people lose weight and keep it off with her program. Her philosophy? Tanya believes you should never sacrifice taste, even when you're eating healthy foods. Have a recipe in need of rehab? Send us your recipe!