Chicken with Honey-Orange Sauce

From EatingWell: March/April 2009 — Subscribe Now!

Here we combine raisins, cinnamon, honey and almonds with orange juice, zest, wine and broth to make a rich, savory pan sauce for chicken. There's plenty of the gorgeous sauce, so be sure to serve whole-wheat egg noodles, couscous or rice on the side.

READER'S COMMENT:

"This was absolutely delicious and so easy to cook! I don't normally like wine based sauces but this one was so yummy. The almonds are key and so are the raisins. I also added dried cherries and they blended very nicely! Definitely one I'...

4 servings

Active Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Nutrition Profile

Low saturated fat | Heart healthy | High potassium | View Complete Nutrition Guidelines»

Ingredients

2 navel oranges
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 1 1/4 pounds), trimmed and tenders removed
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons honey
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted (see Tip)

Preparation

Zest and juice one orange. Remove the skin and white pith from the other orange, then halve and slice. Reserve zest and juice separately from the orange slices.
Combine flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess. Transfer the remaining flour to a small bowl, add broth and whisk to combine.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add wine to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour-broth mixture, the reserved orange zest and juice, raisins, honey, cinnamon stick and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan and cook, turning the chicken once or twice, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 165°F and the sauce has thickened, 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Discard the cinnamon stick. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and garnish with the reserved orange slices and almonds.

Tips & Notes

Tip: To toast slivered almonds, cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving: 420 calories; 13 g fat (2 g sat, 7 g mono); 74 mg cholesterol; 37 g carbohydrates; 31 g protein; 3 g fiber; 395 mg sodium; 587 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (50% daily value), Magnesium (17% dv).

2 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 1/2 fruit, 3 1/2 lean meat, 1 fat