Chicken a la Orange

While my boyfriend and I were trying on jeans at the newly opened True Religion store, he had the idea of making orange chicken. After searching all of Food Network and each of my cookbooks, I settled on this recipe. It was AMAZING!!!!! Best of all, it was very easy. Try it for yourself...

Orange-Dijon Chicken
Servings: 4

4 Medium skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 c. EVOO (that's extra virgin olive oil for the non-Rachel Ray devotees)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 recipe orange-dijon glaze (recipe is below)
coarsely ground black pepper
Orange zest or peel(optional)

1. Place chicken in heavy, large self-sealing plastic bag.
2. In small bowl stir together EVOO, garlic, salt, and the 1/8 tsp pepper. Pour over chicken. Seal bag; turn to coat well. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hrs. or up to 8 hrs.* Turning bag occasionally.
3. Prepare Orange Dijon glaze. Cover & refrigerate.
4. Drain chicken and discard marinade. Place chicken on unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil chicken 4-5 inches from the heat for 12-15 mins. or until no longer pink, turning once.
5. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the glaze until heated through.
6. Slice chicken breasts and spoon glaze over chicken; sprinkle with ground pepper. If desired, garnish with orange zest or peel.

Orange Dijon Glaze
In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup orange juice (or frozen OJ concentrate, thawed), 3-4 TBS Dijon style mustard, 2 TBS water, 1 TBS balsamic vinegar, 1 TBS EVOO, 1 tsp snipped fresh basil, and 1/2 tsp fresh or dried rosemary. This makes about 3/4 cup of the glaze.

*I made this recipe a little different because we didn't have time to marinate the chicken for as long as the recipe stated. Instead, I put the chicken in the Ziploc bag, like the recipe says. I left that in the refrigerator for about 20-30 mins to chill. I cooked the chicken in a Pyrex dish for 25 mins on 350 degrees, until done. With about 3 mins left, I spooned about half of the glaze over the chicken. Once it was done, I spooned the rest of the heated glaze over the chicken once it was on the plates. This was still WONDERFUL!!