Orange Chicken and Rice Pilaf

Here are a couple of dishes I made a two Sundays ago. I gave the recipes to my mom and she made them and they were a big hit with my dad and younger brother, so I thought I'd share. Really, these are two very simple recipes that I got from allrecipes.com. As I cook more, I'm learning things don't have to have 50 ingredients to taste good, sometimes simple is better. Just do simple well (in my case that means following the recipe and only deviating if I'm really sure I'm going to like the deviation).

Orange Chicken:

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix, crushed (I used Stove Top Sage)
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon salt
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Orange slices

Directions:
1. In a shallow bowl, beat egg, add orange juice.
2. In another bowl, combine stuffing mix, paprika, orange peel and salt.
3. Dip chicken into the egg mixture, then into crumbs, turning to coat well.
4. Pour butter into a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Place chicken in baking dish, turning once to butter both sides. 4.
5. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the chicken is tender and juices run clear. Garnish with orange slices if desired.

This is not a traditional Asian flavored orange chicken, but it is still really good. Everybody ate it and there was only 2 chicken breast halves left over. I think cutting them in half is important because it makes them cook faster and makes more manageable portions.

Rice Pilaf:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup orzo pasta
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups chicken broth

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a lidded skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Cook and stir orzo pasta until golden brown (about 5 minutes, but watch it).
3. Stir in onion and cook until onion becomes translucent, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Mix in the rice and chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

This is a really simple rice pilaf that is a great side dish. We've had it with salmon and chicken. It's really easy to make and I love the orzo pasta in it. I haven't added any veggies to it yet, but I think it would go really well with any number of veggies.

I hope that if you try these recipes you enjoy them as much as we did.