Happy Monday everyone!
Eat too much red beans & rice, cornbread, lobster-sweet corn pomme puree (mashed potatoes, y’all), beurre blanc sauce, and/or pan-fried udon noodles this weekend? No? Just me? Blerg.
Well, even if you didn’t stuff your face with a beautiful yet diet-busting combo of dinners like I did, I’ve got a fresh and in-season recipe that will get you back on track, and feeling so healthy that you, not the beurre blanc sauce, will have the last laugh. Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHA!
That is to say, you should try Orange Chicken Skillet with Winter Fruit Salsa.Â
Ben and I had a GREAT time hanging and dining with our buddies this weekend. Friday night we headed to Flying Mango with a couple of our besties, where I ordered Red Beans & Rice (a panicked decision made while menu-overwhelmed/trying not to order my usual 3-meat platter) with a side of their house cornbread which comes with a thwack of honey-cinnamon-butter on top. OMG, it’s like frosting.
Saturday I really put the petal to the metal, ordering Scallops in Buerre Blanc Sauce with Grilled Asparagus and Lobster-Sweet Corn Pomme Puree when we headed out to drinks and dinner with other friends at Django. Expertly cooked in every way, and holy-heck, let me just repeat myself – Lobster-Sweet Corn Pomme Puree!
It was around the time I found myself scraping up the last morsels of beurre blanc-smothered pomme puree when I realized I’d need to prepare some lighter fare this week, starting with this super-easy Orange Chicken Skillet with Winter Fruit Salsa. Seasoned chicken is sauteed then slathered in a 1-minute orange pan sauce, then topped with a sweet-tart winter fruit salsa made with oranges, kiwis, and pomegranate seeds. That’s it! Ready and having you feeling fit in about 20 minutes.
Start with the Winter Fruit Salsa. Winter fruit – it’s a very good thing! First cut the top and bottom off 1 orange (or 2 small oranges) then cut the peel and pith away with a sharp knife.
Cut in between the segments to pop them out, then squeeze the orange to get any last drops of juice out.
Next, peel then chop 2 kiwis and add them to the bowl. Oranges and kiwis are in season right now and taste so. damn. good. I cannot get enough.
Psst! There’s a super-easy way to peel kiwis (not that my kiwi fuzz-eating husband needs it!)Â Click here for tutorial pics >
Next add 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds. Either hand plucked, or already seeded – your call. Here’s how I de-seed a pomegranate >Â
Mix everything up, then set the Winter Fruit Salsa aside (and try and keep your spoon out of it!)
Next brush chicken breasts on both sides with olive oil, then season liberally with garlic salt and pepper and saute for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Seasoned chicken is also a very good thing, PLUS the seasoning that stays in the pan will help to flavor the orange pan sauce.
Remove the cooked chicken to a plate to rest, then add 1 cup orange juice to the skillet and scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon. Let the orange juice reduce until syrupy, about 1 minute.
Plate the chicken (I placed it on a bed of cooked Trader Joe’s Rice Pilaf – but sauteed spinach or by itself would be great!) Then spoon the orange pan sauce and Winter Fruit Salsa over the top. Grab a fork and knife, then dig in!
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Orange Chicken Skillet with Winter Fruit Salsa
Description
Orange Chicken Skillet with Winter Fruit Salsa is light, fresh, and fast. A feast of in-season flavors including orange, pomegranate, and kiwi.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- extra virgin olive oil
- garlic salt
- pepper
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 orange (or two small oranges)
- 2 kiwis, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
Directions
- Peel then segment orange over a bowl, squeezing leftover juice into bowl. Add kiwi and pomegranate seeds then stir to combine and set aside.
- Brush or mist chicken breasts with olive oil then season liberally on both sides with garlic salt and pepper. Saute over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes a side, or until cooked through. Remove to a plate to rest for 5 minutes.
- Add orange juice to skillet then use a wooden spoon to scrape up brown bits from bottom of skillet. Let orange juice reduce until syrupy. Plate chicken then top with orange pan sauce and winter fruit salsa.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
As soon as the cold fruit salsa hits the hot chicken, the oranges and kiwi get warm and uber-juicy. I can’t tell you how fresh and fab this dish tastes! Since I suggest seasoning the chicken liberally with garlic salt and pepper, the savory flavors really help balance the sweet-tart flavors of the salsa, and the orange pan sauce really ties everything together.
Hope you’ll include this light & fit dish on your menu plan soon – after too many weekend indulgences or not!
Christi @ ByeByeYoYo 01.15.2013
That dish looks soooooo pretty! Love the colors, and I bet the bursts of fruit flavor are awesome.
Leanne @ Healthful Pursuit 01.15.2013
Wow… so you MAY have felt like you went overboard on the awesome eats this weekend but this dinner more than makes up for it. The color is so vibrant and rich and all of the fruits are in season, too. Love it!
Claire Ford 01.14.2013
My girl, I just found your blog tonight and I am already HOOKED. What a great place you have here! I’m especially excited to try your fresh and filling salads. I am such a believer that salads have to be packed with substantial, yummy ingredients in order to be worth it, but I’m not very good at coming up with salads that fit that description. Thank you for all these ideas! I’ve been struggling to include enough vegetables in my little family’s diet and I think these salads are my answer.
So thanks for all the work you put in. IGE is my new favorite resource. And by the way, your haircut is so, so cute.
Jv 01.14.2013
Flying Mango and Django?! What a fantastic weekend!
This recipe looks so fresh and delicious! Definitely something I’d like on a salad too.
Claire Ford 01.14.2013
My girl, I just found your blog tonight and am officially HOOKED. I haven’t broken out of my holiday-junk-food slump yet, but starting tomorrow, the healthy me is back–thanks to your recipes! Thank you! I especially love your fresh and filling salad ideas. I went a lot of my life thinking I didn’t like salad, but once I started packing salads with nutritious, substantial ingredients, that changed. Thanks for all these great ideas to get me through these cold winter months.
I’ll definitely be returning to your little space here. You have such great ideas! And your haircut is bomb.
Zuupdesign 01.14.2013
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Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl 01.14.2013
Well, actually now that you mention it..I have eaten “too much” beans and rice this past weekend (is there such a thing? ;)). I made my slow cooker beans and rice (which makes 5-6 servings) and it’s just me, myself, and I that has to get it eaten. It’s a good thing that I love it so much!
Slow Cooker Beans & Rice: http://cleaneatingveggiegirl.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/5-minute-slow-cooker-beans-and-rice/
Erin 01.14.2013
Crazy — I went to Flying Mango on Saturday and a friend of mine was there on Friday. I hadn’t been there in a few years but I’ll definitely be back soon, I loved it! I had the basa with red beans and rice — the table shared an order of corn bread b/c how could you not?!?!
Kristen 01.14.2013
I’d honestly never get past making the salsa. With the spoon to stir, I’d have it eaten before anything else happened!
Brie @ Entrée the Giant 01.14.2013
When life gives you winter, make winter fruit salsa! That looks beautiful and bright – just what I need up here in New England. Can’t wait to make this one, Kristin!
Candy 01.14.2013
This looks soooooo good!! Definitely going to put this in my lineup.
I thought my husband was the only one who ate the fuzzy part of the kiwi….ewwwww….I can’t do it. :)
Lauren 01.14.2013
Okay, so your scallop meal sounded amazing, but I have to say, this chicken recipe sounds phenomenal! I’m all over it. :)
Emily @ Have Your Cake And 01.14.2013
hah I totally love how you started this one out, your weekend eats sound amazing!! Living in FL I can totally vouch for how amazing the citrus is right now, everyone needs to go out and buy mass quantities!!!
Katie @ Blonde Ambition 01.14.2013
What a cool combination! I love kiwis, I never tried them until college but they’re so sweet and juicy when in season!
Carley @ Optimistic Health 01.14.2013
This looks like awesome! The hubby just brought oranges home from a coworkers yard too!
Nina @ Too Hottie For That Body 01.14.2013
Oh Yum! I’ve just discovered what gems pomegranate are. They always kind of intimidated me until recently. I can’t wait to try this.
alyssa - life a la wife 01.14.2013
Beautiful dish – I love the colors!
Trisha 01.14.2013
This looks super tasty, I’m in love with winter fruits right now. I’m currently on day 6 of a “cleanse”, but one where I get to eat real food and I’m quite certain that with quinoa instead of rice, this whole meal is cleanse-friendly! Yay!
Lindsay 01.14.2013
I never thought fruit and chicken would go together…I might have to try this sometime. It’s so simple, but look at those colors! Wow!
Andrea 01.14.2013
I recently found your blog and have already made so many of your recipes. My husband loves them and we all know it’s a challenge to find recipes that are husband friendly while remaining healthy! The real reason I am commenting today is because my husband eats kiwi with the skin on! I was certain that my husband was the one and only weirdo who eats kiwi with the skin on, and I am happy to hear that your husband is just as strange :). When I asked my husband why, he explained that it is easier and that’s how the Japanese eat it?. Hows that for an reason? Thanks again for your mainly wonderful recipes!
Nina @ Too Hottie For That Body 01.14.2013
Yikes! I can’t even peach fuzz… but congratulations on having such a cultured husband :)