Apricot Glazed Turkey Breast

This is a recipe I've adapted from a recipe given to me by a friend in Alaska. Originally she used an entire packet french onion soup mix, and a can of cranberry sauce with whole berries in it. She would simply mix those two items together and pour over a turkey breast in the crock pot, cooking on low for 3-4 hrs. That recipe is good too, but the sauce mixture seemed to overpower the flavor of the turkey to me. She was excited about sharing a recipe that her family loved and was extremely simple to make. I get that, but it just wasn't to our family's taste. The good thing is I did get this idea from it. I did mine in the oven this time due to the fact that my crock-pot is now in appliance heaven and I haven't replaced it yet. (RIP little black crock, we had a good run!) Normally I would cook this in the crock pot, but I like the versatility of this amazingly simple recipe.

This dish is extremely time efficient and only uses 3 ingredients. One pre-cooked turkey breast (approx 3-4 pounds), one packet onion soup mix, and one small jar apricot jam. Apricots are fresh and plenty here in the Northwest and we preserve our own jams & jellies each summer, that's what I used here. You can use your favorite apricot jam from your local grocer.

I like onion soup mix, but it can be pretty overpowering when using it while combining flavors. So for this recipe, I only use half of the packet onion soup mix and half of the jar of apricot jam. Place onion soup mix and apricot jam in a small bowl and stir until well blended.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place turkey breast and 1/2 C water in baking dish. Glaze turkey breast with apricot/onion soup mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for one hour following label directions on the turkey. 

When it's done baking, let sit for 5 minutes for juices to settle before slicing. The house smells wonderful and the turkey is so juicy with the perfect blend of flavors. We usually serve this with some baked sweet potatoes and some sort of steamed vegetable, such as green beans. 

The juice actually makes a really good gravy that brings the sweet potatoes to a whole new level. Simply use approx 1C of the turkey's juices,  2T cornstarch, and 1/2 C milk; mix continually using whisk while mixture simmers until thickened. It will be sweeter than the traditional turkey gravy, but it's a perfect compliment to the turkey meat and sweet potatoes, if you choose to have them as a side dish. 

Happy Feasting -- Jenn