An Okie Girl’s Take on Orange Chicken

An Okie Girl’s Take on Orange Chicken

It’s been a little while since I shared an “Okie Girl’s Take” recipe, so I thought it was time to share something REALLY good. This version of orange chicken is super easy, full of flavor and sure to be a crowd pleaser.

It all starts off with a trip to Trader Joes. Doesn’t that sound fun?

img_1499

For this recipe, I grabbed a few of my refrigerator favorites along with some sweetened dried orange slices and added it all to a pot of frozen chicken thighs and used my no fail dinner trick. Yes, this Orange Chicken has been “no-peeked”. No-peek cooking is my favorite cooking method and literally saves the day at least twice a week!

Read all about some of my favorite No-Peek recipes HERE.

img_1492

Start off by combining a spicy BBQ, traditional BBQ, tamari or soy sauce and some apricot jam in a medium mixing bowl.

img_1494

I used only 1/3 c. of the spicy Sriracha Roasted Garlic BBQ sauce because I imagined that the heat would intensify the longer it cooked. If you really love spicy food, add more – this sauce has a great flavor.

img_1494

All in all, I added approximately 16 oz of sauce and jam ((in total)). Not pictured, but equally as important is the addition of 3 T of cornstarch. Once the sauces, jam & cornstarch were well combined, I poured it over the frozen chicken and some diced onions.

img_1493

Then topped it with some of the sweetened dried orange slices. If you can’t manage to find this particular product, a sliced fresh orange should substitute nicely.

img_1496

One hefty pinch of salt and black pepper and into the oven this meal went. Covered at 275° for 6 hours is all the cooking technique necessary for this delicious meal.

Simply serve over some steamed brown rice ((I picked this rice up in the Trader Joe’s freezer section – but feel free to use dried rice)) or white — depending on what you have on hand.

Although the oranges were edible, they were rather strong, so I picked them out before eating. But they imparted the most delightful, sweet orange flavor throughout this meal. I highly recommend grabbing them the next time you head to TJ’s.

img_1498

This Okie Girl’s Take on Orange Chicken was a complete success according to my herd. Just enough kick, but balanced with sweet citrus and smoky BBQ. I will be making this again soon!

An Okie Girl's Take on Orange Chicken
Serves 8
Write a review
Print
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
6 hr
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
6 hr
451 calories
36 g
230 g
15 g
43 g
4 g
337 g
1257 g
22 g
0 g
9 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
337g
Servings
8
Amount Per Serving
Calories 451
Calories from Fat 131
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 15g
22%
Saturated Fat 4g
20%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 230mg
77%
Sodium 1257mg
52%
Total Carbohydrates 36g
12%
Dietary Fiber 3g
11%
Sugars 22g
Protein 43g
Vitamin A
8%
Vitamin C
93%
Calcium
6%
Iron
13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
  1. 3 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs - I used frozen
  2. 1/2 medium white onion, diced
  3. 1/3 c sriracha ((or another spicy)) BBQ sauce
  4. 1 1/2 c KC style BBQ sauce ((or your favorite))
  5. 3 T apricot jam
  6. 4 T tamari ((or soy sauce))
  7. 3 T cornstarch
  8. 5-6 sweetened dried orange slices, or 1 med fresh orange, sliced
  9. 1 t sea salt
  10. 1/2 t ground black pepper
  11. Steamed brown or white rice
  12. chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 275°. Place frozen chicken* & diced onion in a large, 7-9 qt. covered dutch oven. Combine BBQ sauces, jam, tamari and cornstarch in a small mixing bowl & pour over the frozen chicken. Place orange slices on top of the chicken & sauce. Sprinkle salt & pepper over the chicken.
  2. Cover and place into the 275° oven for 6 hours. Once cooking is complete, shred the chicken, stir and season to taste.
  3. Serve over rice and garnish with chopped chives.
  4. Serves 8
Notes
  1. If using fresh chicken, subtract 1-2 hours from cooking time. Chicken breast can be substituted.
beta
calories
451
fat
15g
protein
43g
carbs
36g
more
Adapted from An Okie Girl's Take - FFAY
Food for a Year: https://foodforayear.com/
 picmonkey-image-30