Why do I alter nearly every recipe I make? Where does one draw a line between acceptable convenience and thrift? It's hard- one woman chooses to spend her budget on x but not y and her neighbor scoffs because to her x is an unnecessary luxury. Who makes that decision? I have two shelves of cookbooks and recipes. Some are based on convenience foods, canned cream soups and boxed mac'n'cheese. Some come with lists of fresh vegetables and spices and presume that you have a freezer full of homemade stock. Personally I take a middle ground between the extremes. While I do enjoy preparing those fancy meals time means that I can't spend hours prepping vegetables. Frozen pre-peeled and chopped? You betcha. White sauces share kitchen time with cream soups and stock bubbles in my crockpot only two or three times a year.

Last night I altered a recipe designed for my diabetic diet. Take out some spices, substitute juices and type of rice, cooking method and time. Is it still the same recipe I started with? I'd say- vaguely. Very loosely based on the original. Unless stated otherwise all the recipes I post here are such vague interpretations of the original and tailored to my needs and convenience.

The same could be said of housekeeping. One person scrubs daily. One uses the Swiffer system. Another clips coupons and eats lentil soup by the pot to pay for a cleaning service twice a month. It all depends on what works.

Apricot Chicken:

4 chicken breasts (half a 3lb bag of frozen skinless boneless breasts)
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup low-sugar apricot preserves (smuckers makes one)
three or four good shakes of allspice

mix up in gallon-size ziploc bag and sit out to defrost, turning every couple of hours. When defrosted and ready to cook, pour out over cooked rice in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. I used leftover rice that had been sitting around for a few days. Or you could use 3-4 cups of a new batch. Whatever works. Cover and bake for about an hour at 350 or until the chicken is done.