From time to time, I grab my phone and point to that P known as Pinterest. I’m just going to quickly browse, nothing more. Soon, I smack myself back to reality. I realize that an hour or more, of never to get back precious time, has whizzed right by. I know . . . none of you ever do this!
Many of you probably think that everything I cook/bake is what I call calorie worth-it.
Trust me . . . at least 20% is not!
I put a lot of different recipes to the test. My poor husband it my taste tester. He is not a picky man by any means. He will eat anything I put in front of him and has to eat left-overs for days and never complains. Sometimes, he will say . . . “It’s fine, but you don’t need to make it again.” I usually don’t. I generally know that something is a winner when we both like it and we want to have it again. Make sure you read to the bottom of this post. I need to give some cookbooks away.
I found a recipe on Pinterest for 3 ingredient Orange Chicken. That immediately peeked my interest, because it sounded fast and easy. I also wanted a skinny version, which means the chicken is not breaded and not fried. I know . . .Darn!
Orange chicken is usually served over rice and my husband loves rice. The picture looked pretty good. I had all the ingredients necessary to begin. Barbecue Sauce, Orange Marmalade & Soy Sauce, all had a home in my fridge. I grabbed my chicken breasts and began. The recipe started with preparing the sauce and letting it simmer.
Well . . . One taste, and I knew it was not the Orange Chicken I had imagined. It was so strong, it about took the top of my head off. Yikes! Quickly, I removed half of the sauce and added low sodium chicken broth and tasted again. The barbecue sauce was so over powering, that you could barely taste the orange marmalade. I put the sauce in a container and popped it in my freezer. I can use it later with a can of sprite, 7-up or even root beer, along with about 10 large chicken breasts in my slow cooker! It will make awesome pulled chicken, but it was much too strong to serve over rice.
I started over . . .
What you see below is my adapted recipe. I still used the basic ingredients, but varied the measurements and added a couple more.
I served this Easy Orange Chicken over Brown Rice. I like brown rice much better than white rice. It’s a bit chewy.
It was given a thumbs up and even eaten for left overs the next night. The only suggestion my husband had was making more sauce. I’m a bit weird. I don’t care for very much sauce on rice, but he does. If you like extra sauce . . . just double the sauce recipe. If you double the sauce recipe, I suggest you don’t quite double the bbq sauce though. Use 1/4 cup + 1/8 = a very scant 1/2 cup of bbq sauce!
As for me . . . I would prefer just eating the chicken and broccoli and forgetting to plate the rice. I could also toss the chicken on a bed of lettuce/spinach and really go to town! mmmm
ALSO: (expired)
Leave me a comment and type your favorite winning Pinterest recipe and also a link to your blog if you have one. I’ll choose one or two of those recipes to cook/bake. If I choose your recipe, I’ll send you one of my favorite cookbooks!
Easy Orange Chicken over Brown Rice
Ingredients
- 3 – 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- For the Sauce:
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce
- heaping 1/2 cup Sweet orange or Peach Marmalade (Smucker’s)
- 2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp minced garlic
- sesame seeds and cashews for the top
- Add 1 cup small pieces of Broccoli and 1 small carrot sliced in thin little pieces (opt)
- Brown or white rice prepared as instructions per box
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce:
- In a sauce pan, add all sauce ingredients and combine well with a spoon or whisk. Turn the heat to medium and let it come to a low boil. Turn the heat to low/simmer and let simmer (UNCOVERED) for 15 to 20 minutes OR until thickened as desired. Sauce will look like a thick syrup consistency when it’s simmered long enough.
- For the chicken:
- Cut up your chicken breasts into small cubes. Add about 2 tablespoons – vegetable, olive or canola oil to a frying pan and turn your stove on medium/high heat. Season with salt & pepper.
- Once it pops and sizzles, carefully add the chicken to the pan. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or lightly golden and chicken is done on the inside. Drain chicken pieces on a paper towel.
- Add the Chicken to the sauce and toss until coated.
- Add small pieces of broccoli and small slices of carrots is desired. Let simmer just until the vegetables are crisp tender. (If adding larger pieces, steam slightly first before adding)
- Serve over hot rice and top with sesame seeds and cashews. Yum!
Notes
TO DOUBLE:
You can double the sauce recipe if you like extra sauce on your rice.
Use a very a scant 1/2 cup barbecue sauce.
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup of barbecue sauce.
by Get Off Your Butt and BAKE
While I don’t have a blog, I am addicted to Pinterest! This is one of my family’s favorite recipes from The Pioneer Woman. She is amazing!!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/grilled-chicken-pineapple-quesadillas/
I hope you enjoy this too!
Pintrest can be so fun and addicting . ..easy to get sucked into, especially when you should be doing something else.
My favorite recipe I’ve found is for Pesto Bread. I recreated it and it was sooooooo good. I’ve made it several times and it never disappoints. My teenager frequently asks for it.
http://sweetlucyculinarycreations.blogspot.com/2014/06/pesto-bread.html
I combine two Pinterest finds to make delicious pork carnitas tacos. I like this recipe for the pork: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2013/10/pulled-pork-tacos-with-sweet-chili-slaw/ and this recipe for the slaw (minus the cumin because I don’t like much of it) http://kitchenmeetsgirl.com/pork-tacos-with-cilantro-lime-salsa/
I don’t have a blog, but we love Mel’s Kitchen’s http://www.melskitchencafe.com/tender-pork-chops-with-caramelized-apples-and-onions/. And I like my dish sauce with a side of rice 🙂 This looks easy and delicious.
Hi Jonna!
While it’s nowhere near healthy, my Hamburger Casserole is on fire on Pinterest right now! You can find it here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/283304632786287396/. Love that you’ve been posting more BTW 🙂
You’ve gotta try this recipe I found off Pinterest from Damn Delicious. It’s become our family favorite. I think it’s the only recipe I have that the whole family will eat. Amazing! Thanks for all the recipes you post. I enjoy finding new favorites!
http://damndelicious.net/2014/05/30/pf-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps/