SPICY ORANGE GLAZED CHICKEN

Having passed on the Chinese food samples at the mall, I decided to come up with an Asian inspired chicken dish that gives you that same sweet and savory taste! Even better, it's easy to do!

You will need: A sauce pot, a skillet

THE SAUCE:

Ingredients:

1c orange juice (you can squeeze it yourself or use a brand that doesn't have added sugar)
3 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (add more or less to taste)

Put all of these into your sauce pot and reduce until it is 1/3-1/2 it's original volume. You want it to thicken.

**Reducing sauces is an easy way to accent the ingredient's natural sugars and to thicken a sauce. Just heat over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally until it is the consistency you want. If you reduce it too much, just add a splash of water and stir.

Just a minute longer!

THE REST OF IT:

Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts, cubed
1/3 each orange and red bell pepper, sliced thin then halved
1/4 onion julienned (add more if desired)
1/2 small navel orange, sliced thin then halved again (with peel)
1 clove garlic sliced thin

Just added the veggies

Put a little olive oil in your skillet and preheat pan over medium heat. Add diced chicken and cook until done all the way through. Add in the onion, bell peppers, garlic and orange slices and cook until almost done. Pour your sauce into the skillet and stir until everything is coated. Cook until vegetables are done. Serve hot.

Stirring it all together with the sauce!

Yields approximately 3 servings

I recommend serving this dish with a hearty portion of green beans!

*Note: Due to the natural sugars in the balsamic vinegar and orange juice, the orange slices will actually "candy" themselves and the peel will become soft and sweet. The best orange chicken I've ever had included orange peel in its sauce and the little bit of bitter with the sweet was a wonderful flavor and texture combination.