Orange Pecan Chicken

I think I mentioned a few posts ago about my love for citrus. I love anything citrus. The only smoothie I'll get at Jamba Juice is "Orange Dream Machine". Adding citrus to meat wasn't very appealing to me at first - it just sounded weird. But after trying orange chicken and Guy Frieri's spicy tangerine beef, I decided that adding citrus to meat isn't weird at all - it's wonderful and I can't believe I even thought it was weird.

So I have been looking for recipes that call for citrus as an ingredient in main dishes and found this one. This recipe actually won the grand prize from Taste of Home Dec/Jan 2000. I made a slight change to the recipe though. The original recipe calls for walnuts but my husband is allergic to them - his gum will start peeling - so I used pecans instead. I love walnuts though and I'm sure that walnuts go great with this dish.

Orange Pecan Chicken

Adapted from "Taste of Home"

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons orange juice, concentrate

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup corasely chopped pecans or walnuts

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

4 green onions, thinly sliced, divided

1/2 cup orange marmalade

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons honey

1-2 tablespoons grated orange peel

2-3 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Hot cooked rice

Directions:

If using 2 chicken breasts, cut the chicken in half. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine orange juice concentrate, 2 tablespoons oil, soy sauce and garlic. Add chicken;seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. (If you don't have a lot of time, you may skip this part and let marinade for 20-30 minutes)

Remove chicken; reserve marinade. In a skillet, cook chicken in remaining oil until juices run clear. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, saute pecans (or walnuts) in butter until lightly browned; remove and set aside.

Set aside 1/4 cup green onions for garnish. Add remaining onions to saucepan; saute until tender. Add reserved marinade and the next eight ingredients. Bring to a rolling boil; boil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes or until sauce reaches desired consistency.

Serve chicken over rice; top with sauce and reserved pecans (or walnuts) and onions.