Honey Vinaigrette Grilled Chicken

I'm happy to be joining the Secret Recipe Club again this month.  What's the Secret Recipe Club?  Basically, it's a once-a-month blog hop party for food bloggers where participants are assigned another member's blog to secretly spend time perusing, pick a recipe, make it, write a blog post about it, and then everyone reveals their secret by publishing their posts at the same time.

My assigned blog - A Pretty Life in the Suburbs by Jo-Anna, a wife and mother of 3 living in Canada. Wow, I am so impressed with Jo-Anna's blog - she's got a little bit of everything - cooking, baking, decorating, crafting, housekeeping, organizing... and it's all documented with fabulous photographs and a great sense of humor.  And did I mention Jo-Anna's blog is just over a year old and she already has 390 published posts - this girl is amazing!

On to the recipe - thinking I had another week to prepare this post, I had originally chosen a yeast bread which required an overnight rest in the fridge before baking, but a reminder email late last night contradicted my failing memory and I realized my post was due in a few hours - Yikes!  I quickly changed my recipe selection to Jo-Anna's Honey Vinaigrette.  Of course it's great used as a dressing on salad, but I thought it would make an excellent marinade for chicken as well.  Yummo, I was right - the honey pairs perfectly with chicken!  The vinaigrette went together in a matter of minutes; then I marinated my chicken for about an hour before grilling on my stove top.  The house smelled divine!!  I saved some yummy chicken to have on my salad for lunch this afternoon, sliced thin and drizzled with some reserved vinaigrette.  Great recipe Jo-Anna!

Honey Vinaigrette

makes 1/2 cup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard (I used 1/2 grainy, 1/2 Dijon)

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place ingredients in a jar and shake.

2. Pour onto salad greens and toss.

Note

• Alternately, you can use as a marinade for chicken breasts.  Simply put uncooked chicken in a zipper bag and pour enough marinade to cover; close bag and rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour (reserve some vinaigrette to drizzle over the cooked chicken).  Preheat oven to 350F.  Heat a grill pan on the stove top.  Remove chicken from bag and discard used marinade.  Place chicken breasts, top side down, on the pan; cooking until you get nice grill marks before turning over.  Immediately after turning, place the pan into preheated oven until chicken is reaches about 160F (about 10 minute).  Remove chicken from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before eating (the temp of the chicken will continue to rise during the rest period - it should reach 165F).  Enjoy!

Light Orange Chicken

Everybody likes eating Orange Chicken at their favorite Chinese restaurant, but not everyone likes the high fat and calories you get from eating something dipped in batter and deep-fried.  In this lighter version, I give you all the yummy flavor of the original, but reduce the fat and calories by sauteing the chicken.  Sauteing reduces the prep time too, transforming this traditional restaurant favorite into a dish that's easy to make at home.  The sauce bubbles away while you brown the chicken, then the two are combined and served over rice - the whole dish comes together in no time, making it a great option for busy weeknights.  I hope you'll be inspired to give this recipe a try.   

Light Orange Chicken

Serves 8

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock

• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated zest

• 6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

• 3 tablespoons cold water

• Scallions for garnish

Directions

1. In a large saucepan combine the chicken stock, orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper.

2. Bring to boil, whisking to dissolve sugar; reduce heat to low until you're ready to thicken the sauce (have cornstarch and water nearby and ready to combine into a "slurry" when needed).

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute chicken pieces in a little canola oil until nicely browned and cooked through (do this in several batches if necessary).

4. Remove chicken to a platter; reserve.

5. To finish the sauce, bring mixture back up to a boil.

6. Make a slurry by mixing 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water; add slurry to boiling sauce and whisk until thick and glossy, about 1-2 minutes; remove from heat.

7. Combine cooked chicken and sauce and serve over rice.

8. Garnish with Scallions.

Note

• I added one sauteed red bell pepper for added color.