NANCYS ORANGE CHICKEN

NANCY'S ORANGE CHICKEN
2 1/2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, cubed (about 8-10)
2 green peppers, cut into strips (8 1/4 ounces trimmed)
1 medium onion, slivered (about 4 1/2 ounces trimmed)
2 tablespoons oil

Marinade and sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh orange juice *
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons orange zest (4 grams)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sambal oelek

Thickener:
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Place the chicken in a large zipper bag. Combine the marinade ingredients and pour a scant 3/4 cup over the chicken. Seal the bag and knead to evenly distribute the marinade over the chicken. Marinate at least 30 minutes but no longer than 60 minutes. Drain the chicken in a colander and reserve the marinade.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Saut?the vegetables until tender-crisp; set aside, keeping as much of the oil as possible in the wok. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink on the outside. Add the unused marinade as well as the reserved marinade and simmer the chicken about 15 minutes or until done. Thicken the sauce with xanthan gum then return the vegetables to the wok and heat through.

Makes 6-8 servings

* I used one average size orange and only got 1/4 cup of juice. So, I added 4 packets of True Orange and 1/4 cup water to make up the difference. This saved about 4 carbs over using 1/2 cup of real orange juice.

With granular Splenda:
Per 1/6 Recipe: 195 Calories; 10g Fat; 15g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 10g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 146 Calories; 7g Fat; 11g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1.5g Dietary Fiber; 7.5g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per 1/6 Recipe: 185 Calories; 10g Fat; 15g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1.5g Dietary Fiber; 7.5g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 138 Calories; 7g Fat; 11g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 1.5g Dietary Fiber; 5.5g Net Carbs

This is my friend Nancy's low carb version of a recipe from America's Test Kitchen. I made a few little tweaks based on what ingredients I had on hand. The original recipe called for red, yellow and orange peppers but they were twice the price of the green ones and half the size. If you can afford them, the dish would look much prettier. The recipe also said that it made 8 servings using only 2 pounds of chicken. I used 2 1/2 pounds and, even then, 6 servings seems more realistic unless you're going to serve this over cauliflower "rice" or something.

If this recipe seems familiar, that's because I made my own version with pork once: Orange Pork with Peppers. Click the photo to see a close-up.

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