Lemonade Chicken and Pistachio Salad

It must have been fate. I happened to be in the local medical clinic this past Wednesday while there was a "Books Are Fun Book Fair" going on. Granted, the last thing I need are more cookbooks. It's an obsession and I can't control myself. I bought four. After the fact, I wondered how I would tell the hubby, but then quickly rationalized that it was too late and he would just have to deal with it. He knows how I am when I'm around them, so it came as no surprise.

After carefully going through each one, I decided that since I wasn't making a big dinner for Easter, I'd make a recipe called Lemonade Chicken that I found in one of the books called "Busy Woman's Quick & Easy Recipes". I also ran across a recipe that I've made a million times called Pistachio Salad and decided to make that too.

When I took the chicken out of the oven, I wasn't going to take a picture, because quite frankly it looked so ordinary. As you can see, I did and I have to tell you, it may look pretty plain, but it's packed with flavor and very tender and juicy! Actually, it was delicious! It's also super easy.

Lemonade Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Place chicken in sprayed 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Combine lemonade, soy sauce and garlic powder in bowl and pour over chicken.

Cover and bake for 45-minutes. Pour juices over chicken and bake uncovered for additional 10 minutes. Serves 6.

* Note: I had to bake the chicken a little longer as it was still a little pink after 45 minutes.

I decided on the Pistachio Salad because it looks so "Spring" like. Instead of plain old mini marshmallows, I added flavored colored ones. It made the salad look prettier and gave it a little fruity flavor. I'm sure you've probably made this one before, but here's the recipe just in case you haven't.

Pistachio Salad

1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans
1 (8 ounce) carton whipped topping, thawed (I used lite)

Place pineapple in large bowl and sprinkle with pudding mix.

Add marshmallows and pecans and fold in whipped topping. Pour into serving dish and refrigerate. Serves 12.