The holidays have passed and it’s time to start looking closely at what we’re eating again. For the next several months at least there will be little in the way of heavily buttered sauces or creamy casseroles.  It’s time to shed some of the pounds that copious amounts of Holiday dinners, desserts and alcohol have helped to put around our midsections and with that comes the return of counting points and tons of chicken recipes.

Personally, I don’t worry about points values or Weight Watcher’s scales. I just make lighter foods with less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff. That way I can eat more, still be quite full and enjoy the weight loss.  My wife on the other hand, prefers to regimen her diet, and if it makes her happy, I’m all for it, so I look to the weight watcher’s site for inspiration, then do my level best to keep her within her prescribed daily points.

This is the year’s first Weight Watcher’s dish, and I’ve got to say that I was very pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  The recipe is my own, but resulted in a heaping plate of food with a points value of only 8, which kept her well and truly within daily limits while still leaving me quite happily stuffed until dinner, which happened to be at 8:00pm that evening due to work schedules.

So to all of you who are craving a new low point recipe, have at this one, It’s sure to please without adding too much to your daily total points value and I’ll be the first to say that it won’t leave you hungry.

Yield: 2 servings

Orange Chicken with Mushrooms and Peppers

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 (6 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 orange, sliced into 1/4-inch segments
• 8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 oz assorted frozen bell peppers
• 3 scallions, sliced in 1/2 inch diagonals
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place a large oven proof skillet over medium flame. Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper. spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken breasts rounded side down in skillet and cook approximately 2 minutes, or until chicken no longer clings to pan and has a golden color. Flip chicken pieces and cover each with two slices of orange. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until juices run clear when pierced.
3. Remove chicken from oven and place on a plate to rest, covered lightly with aluminum foil. (Do not remove orange slices yet.)
4. Add two tbsp olive oil to a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and toss occasionally until mushrooms are softened and no longer sizzling loudly. (Approximately 5 minutes.) Add peppers and toss another 3 minutes or until fragrant and softened slightly.
5. Add garlic and cook for three minutes, tossing constantly.Season with salt and pepper, add scallions and toss for an additional 2 minutes, or until greens are slightly wilted, but not limp.
6. Place 1/2 of the mushroom mixture onto individual serving plates. Remove orange slices from chicken and slice each breast into 4 or 5 segments. Lay chicken over mushrooms, drizzle with orange juice and garnish with orange zest if desired. Serve immediately.
7. Share and Enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 291Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 200mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 7gProtein: 22g

Some fresh herbs in the mushroom mixture would have been nice, but all-in-all this was a very satisfying dish.  the orange segments kept the chicken moist and tender while adding a lovely back note of citrus flavor that was very light and refreshing.  I’ll definitely make this dish again.

Links to other recipes like this:

• Lighter Chicken Francese, from Gina’s WW Recipes
• Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms, from Kalyn’s kitchen