orange

Quick Orange Flavored Chicken
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Quick Orange Flavored Chicken

I’m a huge fan of the orange-flavored chicken at Trader Joe’s—it’s my go-to bachelor night meal when Lyn is out having dinner with the girls. The other day, I saw it in the store but passed it up, forgetting about her night out. So, I decided to check out a few recipes online and give it a shot myself. I have to say, it turned out pretty darn good!

Ingredients  

  • 1/2 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
  • ¼ cup cornstarch or sub with potato starch
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil or any neutral tasting oil (if you’re Air Frying, sub with 2 tablespoon of oil)

Orange Chicken Sauce:

Note: I have to say when it comes to sauces etc. I usually go with full recipe amounts figure more sauce is better. This was the case since I only had 2 chicken thighs

  • 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice pulp strained (about 4-5 medium sized oranges)
  • 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoon Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos (a lower sodium soy sauce substitution)
  • 1 cloves garlic minced
  • ¼ teaspoon ginger powder or sub with freshly grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch or sub with potato starch
  • ½ tsp red chili flakes optional if you prefer it spicy

Optional Garnish

  • ½ green onion finely chopped
  • 1/4 large chopped green or red bell pepper
  • 1 tbsp orange zest grated
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds toasted
  • Hand full of peanuts

Instructions 

  • In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
  • Dice chicken thighs into bite size pieces, about 1.5-inch pieces (about 6-8 pcs per thigh, depending on size). Do not pat chicken thighs dry, some moisture is needed so the starch can adhere to the chicken.
  • Transfer pieces of chicken into a large bowl, followed by cornstarch. Mix to coat each piece evenly with tongs. I let sit uncovered in frig for about 4 hours
  • Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Carefully lower coated chicken into the oil and quickly spread apart. Allow the chicken pieces to sear and form a golden crust, about 4-6 minutes on each side and let them sit avoid stir-frying them. Flip chicken over and cook on the other side until golden brown. 
  • Remove and transfer fried chicken onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain off excess oil. Pour out any excess oil from pan.
  • In the same pan set over medium high heat, pour sauce in. Stirring consistently until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Toss in fried chicken until pieces are coated in sauce. Garnish with orange zest, sesame seeds and green onions, peanuts, whatever.
  • Serve with rice now you know why I like extra sauce!

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Frisee, Orange, and Toasted Hazelnut Salad

Lyn showed me this recipe, I think it was planned because she bought a head of Frisee when we went shopping. She also had Maria grab a few oranges while she was out, Then left the recipe out. It was very good in fact with the left over she added some Anise, and Red Grapefruit chunks instead of the orange. Both were good.

The hazelnuts add crunch to this citrusy salad.

Servings: 4 Martha Stewart

Frisee, Orange, and Toasted Hazelnut Salad

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 seedless oranges, pith and peel removed
  • 1 medium head frisee
  • 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Directions

Instructions Checklist

  • Step 1In a medium bowl, whisk together orange juice, vinegar, zest, cardamom, ginger, mustard seeds, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil until combined, and set aside.
  • Step 2Slice oranges thinly, crosswise, and arrange slices on 4 salad plates; set aside. Place frisee in a large bowl, and toss with the dressing. Divide frisee among 4 salad plates, and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes

To remove the pith and peel from an orange, first slice off the stem and flower end. Place the orange cut-side down,

Oven Roasted Chicken
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Oven Roasted Chicken

Two Sundays ago Lyn and I were driving around doing our errands when I made the announced that I had a craving for roasted chicken. We pulled into the Stop and Shop, not our usual choice for meats Whole Foods is, but they have Natures Prides which is not that bad, definitely less expensive. Anyway I grabbed a 5 pound chicken and a Cara Cara Orange*, you can use any kind of orange but I never noticed a Cara Cara orange before so what the heck I took a chance.  The orange was actually good when I cut it open and saw the reddish color my first reaction was grapefruit but it was sweet and more like a naval orange. I would buy again.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 pound roasting chicken
  • 1 Cara Cara orange sliced in eights
    • I like to add a fruit in the cavity it adds some moisture and flavor so whether it is lime, lemon, orange or a combination does not matter.
  • 1 small to medium red onion sliced in eights
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic gently crushed just a little
  • A handful of fresh thyme
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • Kosher Salt and pepper
  • Your favorite poultry rub I used mine which I made a long time ago and can’t remember what exactly is in it.
    • Williams-Sonoma makes a good one. We’ve combined kosher salt, black pepper and garlic with traditional herbs and spices, including fennel, thyme and cayenne. Hints of tangy lemon and aromatic mustard add a lively finishing touch.
    • 3-4 thicker carrots slice in 1 inch pieces
    • 3-4 potatoes quartered or smaller depending on size
    • 2-3 red onions quartered
    • Whole garlic cloves if you want

How

Preheat oven to 4500

Remove the giblets etc. and set aside to make a chicken broth future use or toss it. Rinse the chicken inside and out and dry with a paper towel. Optional with handle side of regular dinning knife or fingers loosen the skin from the breast and place a sage leaf on both sides or push some butter mixed with some of the poultry rub.  I usually do something like this but not this time. Lyn says too much fat……

Fold the wings under

Season the cavity with salt and pepper.

Stuff with onion, garlic, orange and thyme.

Sprinkle the rub on the bottom side of chicken, drizzle some olive oil and give it a good massage, do the same to the other side and then grind some pepper all over the top. Tie the legs together to hold the stuffing in and give the chicken a more uniformed shape.

Place in roasting pan on middle rack and roast for 30 minutes. Take out and close the oven door. Drain about half of dripping add the vegetables making sure that the potatoes are cut side down.

Return to oven reduce heat to 3250  roast for 30-40 minutes more until juices run clear and temps is about 160-1650

Remove from oven place on platter cover loosely with tin foil for about 15 minutes before carving.

Now decide how crispy you want the vegetables and whether you want to drain the drippings out of not. So depending on what you decide either turn off the oven now or not…

I wrote this recipe from memory I do not think I forgot anything but I feel every cooking experience should have a little experimentation in it how else can we/you discover new taste treats.

Roasted Chicken with Onions, Carrots and Potatoes                  Roasted Chicken with Onions, Carrots and Potatoes

Cara-Cara-Naval * The Cara cara navel, or red navel orange is an early-to-midseason navel orange believed to have developed as a cross between the Washington navel and the Brazilian Bahia navel. Discovered at the Hacienda de Cara Cara in Valencia, Venezuela in 1976, the parentage is apparently uncertain enough to occasionally warrant the distinction of a mutation, with only the tree on which it was found—the Washington navel—being an accepted progenitor. Cara caras did not enter the U.S consumer produce market until the late 1980s and were carried only by specialty markets for many years thereafter. From Wikipedia

Orange Flavored Chicken but Healthier
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Orange Flavored Chicken but Healthier

When I first tasted orange flavored chicken in Texas I loved it, goodbye General Tso’s chicken and swore I would master making it. I kept orange peels in the freezer at all times to add to the dish. I was never able to master it, came close but then I found Trader Joe’s Orange flavored chicken and for a frozen brand it was pretty darn good and yes I became lazy. You could add peppers, stir fried vegetables with a bed of brown rice and you had an instant meal well almost instant it took about 40 minutes to cook. My wife showed me Hungry Girl’s recipe the other day and I liked what I saw I was always looking for healthier alternatives.  So here it is heavily influenced by Hungry Girl who has inspired me many times in the past.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 10 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/8 tsp. each salt and black pepper
  • 1 small egg or 1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
  • —
  • 1/4 cup fat-free chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp. cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar-free orange marmalade
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. maple sugar or she suggests Splenda (granulated)
  • 1 tbsp. reduced-sodium/lite soy sauce
  • —
  • 1 tsp. chopped garlic
  • 1 tsp. chopped ginger
  • Dash red pepper flakes
  • —
  • 2-3 chopped scallions, whites and crisper greens  about ¼ to ½” size

How:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Place flour in a plastic bag or shallow dish. (See below for optional directions)

Place chicken in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Top with egg substitute and toss to coat.

Place flour in plastic bag and divide chicken into 3 portions, shake chicken pieces to remove excess egg and place in bag and shake to coat with flour. Shake off excess flour and evenly lay chicken pieces on the baking sheet. You can fold some flatter pieces in half so cooking in even

or

Place flour on shallow dish and a few pieces at a time shake chicken pieces to remove excess egg and coat with flour. Shake off excess flour and evenly lay chicken pieces on the baking sheet. You can fold some flatter pieces in half so cooking in even.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

In a medium bowl, whisk broth with cornstarch until cornstarch has dissolved. Add marmalade, vinegar, sweetener, and soy sauce, and thoroughly whisk.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Cook and stir garlic and ginger until slightly softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth mixture and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until well mixed and slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat, add chicken, and toss to coat. Serve topped with scallions.

    Orange Chicken