Subscribe to the Blog
Instagram Pinterest Facebook

HoneyBears &
SydneyBeans

Summer Begins & Pan Seared Apricot Chicken

Jump to Recipe

I am focused on building a stronger Canada, a country where we tackle growing inequality, where we unlock the full potential of our citizens and where no one is left behind.

Jagmeet Singh

School’s out for summer!



This is a strange year. Typically our first week of summer involves visitors, namely my Sis and her family! SweetPea‘s birthday is a few days after Canada Day and minus Covid years, we have always been fortunate enough to have them visit and allow us to spend her birthday with her! In fact, it was this time last year that I got to hug my Sis for the first time in a year and a half!!! I remember how emotional that was. This year… They live here! As we have seen, so much can change in a year.

Like Canada Day. In the past we have gone all out! Waving our flags, covering ourselves in maple leaf tattoos, proudly wearing red and white and celebrating loudly at Gyro Park with our fellow Canadians. Don’t get me wrong, our patriotism and our love for our country has not changed but circumstances have. It is hard to reconcile our love for a country that has committed so many crimes in the past. On top of the education we have had over these past few years of the atrocities that our government committed we have had an uprising of people that have used our flag as a symbol of their movement recently. A movement I very strongly disagree with. It is so hard to make peace inside my red and white heart that although I love my country, I know we can do better. As we continue to learn about our past my hope is that our country can come together in the future. Treat every man, woman, and child with respect, dignity, and equality. I truly hope that as we see the rise of a very scary ideology across the world continue to grow that we, as Canadians, recognize that we are stronger together ❤️🤍❤️.

Now that SUMMER is upon us, I have my TOP 5 items for the beach! I live between 2 lakes so I am incredibly lucky to be able to go to the beach every chance we get! Over the years I have found some incredible deals that are truly amazing beach products! Check out my affiliated links below!


1. A DEMMEX Organic Turkish Cotton XL Beach Towel. This towel is the towel to end all towels. It is soft, light, luxurious and you can use it as a towel, a blanket or a wrap! Game Changer. It is perfect for a gift for yourself or for a loved one!

2. A Classic Toronto Blue Jays Cap. The Jays have such an exciting team this year! Show your support by sporting a classic Jays cap to keep the sunshine out of your eyes and off your face.

3. I just bought the BEST sunscreen from Costco the other day! It is from the brand, Alba Botanica. It is SPF 50 but smells like SPF 0 😂. You know what I mean, it smells like coconut tanning oil from our youth that didn’t protect you AT ALL 😂!!! It is amazing! I love it so much that I bought the Alba Botanica After Sun Care as well! It is so soothing after a long day in the sun when your skin feels itchy, dry and hot!

4. Everyone needs a good book to read on the beach so let me suggest 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act! It seems like pretty heavy reading for the beach but it isn’t! It is a great read, not a big book and I read it at the beach last year and finished it in 1 outing! I guarantee you will learn something while reading this one!


5. And of course… After Bite! 😂 With all the rain we have had this spring we have noticed a TON of mosquitoes flying around! This is pretty unusual for the area I live in so my Kids have reactions to the bites. Growing up in Winnipeg, Ninja and I are pretty resistant but the Kids go through After Bite like crazy! I like to get the double pack and keep 1 in my medicine cabinet and 1 in my beach bag!


Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #283: From the Balcony HERE! This week, we’re outside to greet the summer season. Topics: our deck, Middle School Grad, high school, Canada Day, Winnipeg restaurants, Pride Parade, new radio format, & best final albums.

One of the first fruits to ripen here in the Valley are cherries and then apricots! Our neighbour has 2 apricot trees and the blossoms are SO pretty! In anticipation of the fruit season we made apricot chicken the other day. It was absolutely delicious! One of my favourite dishes from the past few weeks for sure! This is an easy pan seared chicken breast with just a fantastic glaze that could easily be paired with potatoes, rice or a salad. A few tips about this dish, 1. leave the chicken to cook for 5 minutes on each side. Don’t be tempted to flip them. If you have to pull the chicken away from the pan, it’s not ready to be flipped. 2. Don’t forget the butter at the end! The butter added to the sauce at the end makes it silky and decadent. This is a dish that is easy enough for a weeknight or fancy enough for company!


Pan Seared Apricot Chicken
Adapted from Noble Pig


1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup apricot jam
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ginger
3-4 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Whisk chicken broth, apricot jam, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Set aside.



Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper; add chicken to the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes on each side until chicken breasts are cooked through and the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees F. Don’t touch the chicken for the full 5 minutes, each side!!


Pour apricot sauce over chicken and simmer for 2-3 minutes until warmed through, occasionally spooning sauce over the tops of the chicken.

 
Finish sauce with butter. Garnish with parsley.



This week started where last week left off… with HBear receiving a special gift from Mom and Dad, tickets to her FIRST concert!! 2 tickets to see The Gorillas in Vancouver in the fall! HBear is SO excited!!! The first day of summer holidays began with a trip to the library for some new summer reading and to sign up for the summer book club! After, the Kids decided to empty our storage space under the stairs and make it “their” space 😳 including prep work to paint the walls!!!! Ummm NO. The next day SBean met her friends at the school park for a summer picnic. The holiday weekend was busy! Sis and BIL came over and helped clean the yard and set up the furniture then we went to Ribfest to celebrate Canada Day! On Sunday we went to Scandia for SweetPea’s birthday and did go karts, mini golf, arcades and then did presents, a poutine bar and had strawberry shortcake for dessert!! We ended the week dancing in a freak HEAVY rainstorm, going for dinner to celebrate the end of middle school with GiftedBesty and her Mom and with a little meditation before bed. The summer is off to a GREAT start!












5 thoughts on “Summer Begins & Pan Seared Apricot Chicken”

    1. Anonymous

      Ha ha we went up onto the roof to watch the fireworks! I got scared coming down and Sydney took pictures of me while laughing her butt off!

      Reply
  3. Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti

    Interesting post! I love the chicken recipe and I am also disappointed in a lot of things going on in the US right now and we wish we would get on course for the greater good of all. It looks like summer time is a happy time–enjoy!

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Posts

Leprechaun Wishes & Spring Cocktails

Sandra’s seen a leprechaun,
Eddie touched a troll,
Laurie danced with witches once,
Charlie found some goblins gold.
Donald heard a mermaid sing,
Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known
I’ve had to make myself. – Shel Silverstein

March: 7 Day Meal Plan

In March winter is holding back and spring is pulling forward. Something holds and something pulls inside of us too. ― Jean Hersey

Scroll to Top