He knew how to woo me.

Justin wooed me with food.  He knew what he was doing.  He claims there were no false pretenses when we met, but I know the truth.  (He also pretended he liked scrapbooking.  Scrapbooking, people.  Now who is the bigger fool?  The one who pretended to get the girl or the girl who actually believed the guy liked SCRAPBOOKING?!?) Back to the matter at hand.
I believe it was date number 5 or 6 when he first cooked me dinner.  We got together on a Sunday evening before a young single adult church group gathering.  And he made me this.

That, my friends, is Apricot Chicken.  I was a goner.

OK, really, I WAS a goner by that point, but not really because of this dinner.  I was, however, incredibly impressed.  I mean, REALLY impressed.  (Actually, I'm pretty sure I was thinking "Yea, at least one of us knows how to cook!)  
(I'll share the second dinner he made me later on, so you'll understand why I drew this defunct conclusion.)

Fast forward 10 months to our first full month of marriage, when in full disclosure he admitted to me that those two dinners were kind of the extent of his knowledge.  Furthermore, both of his "signature dishes" are so ridiculously easy it's... well, ridiculous.

I suppose I could have felt lied to.  Betrayed.  Fooled like the gullible, naive, girl I was.  But instead I decided to be grateful for the two delicious meals he introduced into our meal rotation.  To date, I have made this countless times and served it to many, many guests.  It never fails to impress.  Never.  I've hesitated to put it on the blog because, well, there's really no measuring involved, which makes it a little difficult to give you a recipe.  However, I decided it's time.

How do you feel about crockpot meals?  On one hand, I think they're pretty awesome.  You throw stuff in, you twist the dial, you forget about it.  (At least until the timer goes off - I mean, hopefully.)
On the other hand, crockpot meals take a bit of foresight and planning, skills that I have heretofore not mastered.  It's hard to create the perfect venison roast when you continually forget to thaw the meat the day before.  

The fortunate thing about Apricot Chicken is... well, actually there are a few fortunate things.  So the fortunate things about Apricot Chicken are:
1. Chicken doesn't take long to cook, not even in a crockpot on high.  So you don't really have to cook it all day - maybe four hours on high?  That's for those of us who forget to put it on in the morning...
2. You don't have to make this dinner in the crockpot at all!  No, really!  You can make it just as easily in the oven and you only have to cook it for about 45 minutes!  
3.  Did I mention it's delicious?

So, really it's up to you.  Do you want it ready and waiting at night when you get home?  OR, do you not want to have to think about dinner at all until 45 minutes before you make it?  Either way, this dinner is right for you!  

Although the pictures here are for the crockpot version, the printable recipe card is for the oven baked version, since that IS the way we make it most often.
Please don't be dissuaded by the weirdness of the ingredients.  I swear it's yummy.

Also, keep in mind that this really can be made to taste.  The measurements listed above are only a GUIDELINE.  The one packet onion soup mix and one can pineapple is pretty standard.  But add more or less jam or dressing as you like it - jam for sweetness, dressing for tang.

If you want to make it in the crockpot, just throw all the ingredients in together, mix it up, cook it for about 3.5-4 hours on high or all day on low.  Whip up some minute rice to serve it over and you're done!

Now, go show off your skillz and win someone's heart.

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