Patio Daddio's Orange Chicken

So we stopped at the store the other day to grab some things for the Monster cookies recipe and were haggling over what to make for dinner.  I was so hungry for hamburgers but alas, they were not to be had.  Steve wanted to make his make his Orange Chicken - a delicious recipe but decidedly not what I wanted that night.  Because he said he would cook that night, I decided to capitulate and we could have burgers another night. 

I am so glad I didn't insist on burgers!  The chicken was tender and flavorful and actually pretty darn healthy because he used boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  To quote Steve, "...but how fun is that?"  There really isn't a recipe, per se, but more of a list of ingredients and his written instructions on how to cook it.  Without further ado:

Orange Chicken, Patio Daddio style

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Flour
olive oil
salt & pepper
Chardonnay (or chicken broth if you don't want to use wine)
half an onion, chopped
couple handfuls of sliced mushrooms
minced garlic - a tablespoon (it's a lot so you can always cut back if you prefer less)
Thin sliced orange (I like mine super thin but you can slice as you'd like)

"OK, for the healthy version use 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.... but how fun is that? I brown them with flour coating in a hot pan with olive oil.... salt and pepper the chicken.... brown them well on each side. After they brown on each side, pour in about a 1/4 of a bottle of chardonnay, add half an onion and a couple handfuls of sliced mushrooms, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, at least one half of an orange thinly sliced (lay slices over chicken after adding everything else), add teaspoon of course Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Cover and turn down to simmer for about 45 minutes. I cook fettuccine and pour the sauce in the pan over the pasta. Works out pretty well!"

Everyone LOVES this recipe. I have often thought that maybe once the chicken is done cooking, of removing it from the pan and stirring some orange marmalade into the sauce for some sweetness or, instead of mixing in marmalade, thickening the sauce with a little cornstarch slurry.  I have never tampered with it though as I am perfectly happy to eat this awesomeness as is.

Enjoy!