Bring On 2012!

I've been absent for a while. Ok, a long time. Between moving and starting a new job, things got a little crazy, ya know?

Anyways, winter is here, and so is my one of my favorite months- January! January is a month that brings new beginnings; hence my rededication to blogging (I may also be biased because it may or may not be my birthday month!).

Things have been unseasonably warm since the start of 2012, but are starting to take a turn for the cooler and I decided to cook up one of my favorite cold weather dishes (it's actually great anytime of year, though!). I like to serve it with rice and green beans, but you can serve pretty much anything with it. It's a great recipe to cook for a date night, and it also freezes well (and it's budget friendly!!).

It's adapted from one of my favorite blogs, This Week for Dinner. I've made a few changes to the recipe, so if you'd like to check out the original, click here.

Orange Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed and trimmed of any fat
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/ teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons butter (don't leave this out!)

Sauce:
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups orange juice
11 ounce can Mandarin Oranges, with juice
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Preparation:
Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a zipper top plastic bag. Add cut up chicken to bag. Shake bag until chicken is thoroughly coated.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. In small batches (about 8 pieces of chicken), brown chicken on each side. Remove from pan and add next batch.

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for sauce. Whisk well. Add to pan with all of the chicken, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring ingredients to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Add in mandarin oranges with juices. Tip lid slightly, and cook for 15 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.

Serve and enjoy.