orange chicken

I like to read cooking blogs and watch cooking shows on TV, but I usually avoid them because they always make me hungry!

Here is another recipe that I found on a blog. It sounded unusual and I looked for similar recipes on Allrecipes.com.  There were several there with a few variations on the ingredients - all with good reviews.  It's a very easy dish to prepare.

Orange Chicken

3 to 4 # of chicken breast tenderloins

10 oz. of Catalina salad dressing

10 oz. jar apricot Simply Fruit spread

1 1/2 pkgs. of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Stir together apricot spread, Catalina dressing and dry onion soup mix.

Arrange chicken tenders in a baking dish and pour dressing mixture on top.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes ( slice open one of the chicken pieces at 45 to see if it needs to cook longer).

We had this for Sunday dinner, along with brown rice, stir fry veggies, Sister Schubert's rolls, and a green salad with mandarin oranges and pumpkin seeds.

I was afraid the Orange Chicken would be too sweet tasting but no one thought it was.  Also I thought the sauce got too thinned out with the juices from the chicken as it baked.  

 My husband really liked it. The Sasquatch said it's okay but he wouldn't care if he never eats it again.

Chopper said he wouldn't mind having it occasionally...and made the observation that the chicken pieces looked like big goldfish.   The sauce gave the chicken an orangey color!

Sugar cookies were for dessert.

Later on I took a walk around the property. Every growing thing is showing the signs of fall approaching... a few leaves falling, greenery turning dry and brown. Already the woods are not as dense with growth.

In the garden though, my eggplant is rebounding with the cooler temperatures and producing again.

That's a nice suprise!