Janet Smith's Oriental Chicken

Janet Smith is my deceased mother. This easy recipe was her "backup" when she had to get something good out fast. My family loves it. One dish clean up too!

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 4-6
• Yields: 1 Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) jar  apple jelly
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle hot ketchup (don't have hot ketchup? Add a couple of drops of hot sauce)
• 2  lbs chicken breasts (I prefer thighs,they're more moist) or 2  lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (I prefer thighs,they're more moist)
• 12  ounces pineapple chunks
• 1 (12 ounce) bag mixed red and green sweet peppers
• 3  tablespoons  hot pepper flakes
• 2  cups rice
• 4  cups water
• 2 -3  chicken flavored bullion cubes
• 1⁄2 cup soy sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts (optional)
• 2  tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

1. The night before, take the frozen chicken and marinate it in the soy sauce in the refrigerator overnight.
2. In a 9x13 casserole dish, spray with PAM.
3. Add 2 cups of rice, the bullion and 4 cups of water and mix.
4. Mix up entire jars of apple jelly, the whole bottle of ketchup, the frozen bell peppers and the pineapple bits into a bowl and pour over the rice.
5. Add about 2-3 pounds of chicken thighs to the top and pour the apple jelly mix over the top.
6. Bake it in a 350 oven for about an hour.
7. The water chestnuts are optional, if you add them, add them into the apple jelly mixture. Same with the sesame seeds, they're optional. Just sprinkle them over the chicken before baking if you like.