Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Rosemary-Orange Chicken

Ok, so I know that I said I'd post my favorite Christmas-y recipes this month, and that this doesn't necessarily scream "Happy Holidays". But let me explain.

I grew up in South Florida, and we had orange trees in our backyard. The type of oranges we had were at their peak in the winter. I remember when I was a kid, our church would give stockings to all the children in the congregation, and we always had an orange in it along with the candy. So to me, oranges are a winter-time fruit. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, I found this recipe in my trusty Rachael Ray cookbook last week and thought I'd give it a whirl. It was so tasty!! The hubby didn't give me any suggestions on making it "different" (read: better) the next time, so I took that as him saying it was perfect. Good old R. R. didn't disappoint!

Rosemary-Orange Chicken
3 tbsp EVOO
4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
salt & pepper
1 lg yellow onion, sliced
2 lg carrots, thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp flour
zest and juice of 1 orange
2.5 cups chicken stock/broth
10 pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped (I omitted these)
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat broiler.

Preheat a large skillet over med-hi heat w/2 tbsp EVOO. Add the chicken, rosemary, salt & pepper. Cook and stir for 3-4 min, or until lightly browned. Then add the onions, carrots & garlic. Continue to cook for 2 more minutes.

Dust the chicken and veggies with the flour and cook for one minute more. Stir in the orange juice and chicken stock. Bring up to a simmer and cook until the liquid has been reduced by half, then add the olives.

While the liquid is reducing, combine thebread crumbs, orange zest, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a small bowl.

Transfer the chicken and veggies into a baking dish and top with the bread crumb mixture. Place under broiler until the topping is brown and crispy (about 2-3 minutes).

Serve immediately after removing from oven, and enjoy!