Orange Chicken-recipe

This was a really yummy dish.  The munchkins devoured it and even asked for seconds.

Orange Chicken

Makes 4 servings at 4 WW points each
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, (about 2 large chicken breasts)
Rind of a small orange sliced into thin strips
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth, divided
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 medium scallions, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, (optional-makes it a little spicy. Add more or less to your taste.)
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Directions:
1. In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, broth, sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and vinegar, then set aside.
2. Season breasts with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides.
4. Add orange rinds, scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about 2 minutes. Add ½ cup of broth, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through. (Add a little more water if needed when cooking the chicken...don't let the pan get dry.)
5. Remove the chicken and chop into chunks. Put both the chicken and the sauce mixture into the pan and let simmer until the sauce starts to get thick, this should take approximately 3-4 minutes. Serve chicken and sauce over rice.
Enjoy!!

Menu Planning Monday!

Time for another menu plan!!! :) Days/meals may change since I am waiting to hear from the soccer coach about practices this week.

Monday- Homemade Chili Verde (hope to post the recipe soon...if I actually make note of what I do!), CP pinto beans(link to stovetop version), tortillas (plus all the goodies-lettuce, cheese, salsa, etc.)

Tuesday- Orange chicken (pictured above), white rice (we love short grain sticky rice!), a veggie (probably steamed broccoli)

Wednesday- WW Chicken Parmigiana, pasta, salad

Thursday- Kielbasa & black beans, brown rice medley, salad or veggie (green beans maybe?)

Friday- Thai Chicken Curry (sauce from a jar), rice, veggie

Saturday- CP chicken tacos (just frozen chicken breasts and salsa)

Sunday- Egg drop and chicken rice noodle soup (or dinner at/from Costco! :) ) We made this soup twice already.  I added some chopped up veggies and I also used cooked thin rice noodles instead of cooking large ones in the broth.  Really good!

What are you cooking? View more recipes at www.orgjunkie.com! 

Menu Planning Monday

Forgot to post last week! Here is our menu for this week. As always, I reserve the right to make changes to fit my mood for the day. LOL
Monday- Leftovers
Tuesday- Curried lentils with potatoes, rice and roasted cauliflower
Wednesday- Crockpot chicken taco chili over baked potatoes
Thursday- Angel hair pasta with alfredo sauce, sauteed mushrooms and grape tomotoes, salad and bread
Friday- Orange chicken, rice and broccoli
Saturday- Burritos with taco style lentils and rice
Sunday- Chicken & Dumplings (Depends on the weather actually...if it's warm by then, I might change my mind.)
See http://www.orgjunkie.com/ for more menu planning ideas!

Menu Planning Monday

It's time for another menu!  Here's the plan...hope we can stick to it. :)
Monday: Orange chicken (new recipe), rice and broccoli
Tuesday: Tacos with salsa chicken (just salsa and chicken breasts in the crockpot), Mexican rice and beans
Wednesday: Black bean soup (we never made this last week)
Thursday: Red bean, rice and sausage soup (new recipe)
Friday: Not exactly sure...probably grilled cheese and soup (possibly leftovers)
Saturday: Lean and green chili (soooo yummy...will post recipe soon)
Sunday: Split pea soup and herbed oatmeal bread

I will try to remember to take pictures and share some recipes!
Happy cooking. :) Visit orgjunkie.coim for more great menu ideas!!
Stacey

Lean and Green Chili

Not a St. Patty's day food, but I thought it was appropriate since it's green. :) This is a really tasty chili (it's actually a little more soupy than chili-ish).  I rarely follow recipes exactly as written so I included some of my changes.  The first time I made this, I made the little tortilla strips but we just used a few tortilla chips this time instead.  I hope you enjoy this!!

Lean N Green Chili

(I got the original recipe from a Pampered Chef cookbook but I have seen close variations a couple of places online.)

6 servings...about 1 1/4 cup each

WW- 5 points a serving

Ingredients:

8 6-in. corn tortillas, divided

2 tsp. vegetable oil, dived (I used olive oil)
1 c. chopped Poblano Chile peppers (or green bell peppers) (I used half red and half orange bell peppers instead)
1/2 c. chopped onion (I probably used more)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¾-in. pieces
1 tsp. ground cumin (I probably used more...I don't usually measure spices.)
1 garlic clove, pressed (I used 3 cloves I think)
2 cans (14.5 oz.) 99% fat free chicken broth
2 cans (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I used one can pinto and one can black beans.)
1 1/4 c. salsa verde (or 1 can green Chile enchilada sauce) (I used enchilada sauce PLUS a little green salsa)
3-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (I used more and added it about 10-15 minutes before finishing to let the flavors blend.)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut four of the tortillas in half and stack them one on top of another. Cut the tortillas into ½ inch strips. Place in bowl and toss with 1 tsp of the oil. Spread in a single layer in a baking pan. Bake 10 – 12 min or until crisp, stirring once. Remove from oven.

Chop peppers and onion. Cut chicken into ¾ inch pieces; toss with cumin in small bowl. Fold one tortilla to fit into a food processor coarsely grate. Repeat with remaining 3 tortillas. Set aside.

Heat remaining 1 tsp oil in large pot over medium heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 min. Remove chicken from pot; add Chile peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir 3 min. Stir in chicken, broth, beans, salsa and grated tortillas. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 15 min. (I simmered it a little longer and added the lid after the first 15 minutes.) Stir cilantro into chili. Ladle soup into bowls; top with baked tortilla strips.