This chicken was a bit of a happy accident, I had chicken and an orange that both needed to be eaten, so I combined them. I didn’t want anything too sweet, so I balanced the orange with a bit of paprika and mustard, and just a touch of cayenne. The result was a chicken with just a hint of orange sweetness, and a bit of spice. I basted the chicken every 15 minutes or so while it baked, so the chicken remained juicy. It also created a slight glaze on the top. If you wanted to make extras, this chicken would be perfect on top of a salad that has mandarin oranges in it.
Baked Orange Chicken
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless chicken breasts, fat trimmed
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 1 orange
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp orange zest // Remember to zest your orange before you squeeze it
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the chicken breasts in a greased baking dish.
- In a bowl, combine the orange juice, oil, and spices. Stir well to combine.
- Pour over the top of the chicken.
- Place in oven and bake basting every 15 minutes or so.
- Bake for about 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees. Let sit for 5 minutes, and serve.