Rosemary Orange Chicken Breasts

Rachael Ray 365 to the rescue again. Seriously, even if you hate her on television as much as I do, you should look into this book and many of her other cookbooks. The recipes of hers that I have tried have been great about 98% of the time. Once in a while there will be a dud, but luckily for us it isn't often.

I found some wonderfully fresh vegetables while shopping this weekend. I am so excited spring is around the corner and there will be more fresh vegetables to come. I picked up some baby bok choy because my Thai neighbor Oy used cook it and we thought it was delicious. I miss her, and not just for her cooking skills. I was on my own to figure out what to do with the bok choy this time.

I browsed my 365 book for the millionth time and came across a recipe for Rosemary-Orange pork chops. I had chicken breasts thawed out for dinner so it became Rosemary-Orange Chicken. It was wonderful on chicken and I can't wait to try it on pork chops. Give this a try, it's a great spring dish.

Ingredients

* 1 orange, juice and zest of, navel
* 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
* 1 cup fat-free chicken broth
* 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* salt
* fresh ground pepper
* 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 4 pork loin chops, 1 inch thick (or in my case chicken breasts)

Directions

In a medium sauce pot over high heat, combine the zest and juice of the orange, brown sugar, chicken stock, rosemary, crushed red pepper lakes, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lover the heat to a simmer and cook until reduced by half.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with the EVOO. Season the chops with salt and pepper, then add to the hot skillet. Cook the chops for 5 minutes on each side. (or until done) Pour the glaze over the cooked pork chops. Toss to coat and transfer to a serving platter.

I grilled my chicken breasts outside because it was a wonderful warm spring day. For the bok choy I mixed orange juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a little red pepper flake. I poured some of it on before grilling it and reserved some for when it came off of the grill.

Marmalade Glazed Chicken

Remember I said we eat a lot of chicken? We're going to be having even more because I came across whole chickens for 60¢ per pound so we will be having even more chicken. Good thing chicken is so versatile so we can have it a few nights a week but still it doesn't have to be the same old boring thing every time.

Tonight's chicken dinner:



Marmalade Glazed Chicken

1 (3-3.5lb) chicken, cut up

Marinade/Glaze

1 cup orange juice
3 TBS honey
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 TBS light soy sauce
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 (12 oz) jar orange marmalade
1 TBS cornstarch
1 TBS water

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl except for marmalade, cornstarch and water. Place chicken in a ziploc bag. Pour in marinade. Seal bag and refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight. (Overnight is best) Heat grill and cook chicken until juices run clear, turning once. In a small saucepan combine reserved marinade with cornstarch mixed with water and a jar of orange marmalade. (I'm always afraid to reuse marinade even though boiling it is supposed to kill any bacteria. I just can't do it. I always make up another batch of the marinade recipe to put in the sauce) Whisk over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Baste chicken with glaze. Serve remaining sauce with chicken.

With this chicken, I served jasmine rice and roasted acorn squash.