Orange Almond Chicken

Ugh! I'm all computered out today. I've been having issues with my work email all week and then today my computer was a disaster, I think I got an hour worth of work done... so frustrating! So a quick post...

Yesterday afternoon I went to the gym for the first time in three weeks. I can't believe it's been that long!! I did all lower body exercises:

squats
lunges
calf raises
a butt exercise that involves getting on all fours.... I'll stop there...
straight leg deadlifts

My legs are sore today. I can't tell you how much I missed that feeling! But my rib muscle that I pulled from coughing also hurts more today. So I will be taking another little hiatus from the gym and try again in a couple of days.

After my workout I had a honey greek yogurt with pecans. It reminds me of a pecan pie, just healthier! Yum!


After snarfing down my snack I ran two errands on my way home. I arrived at the same time that our company arrived. Ooopps! I scurried around the house making it presentable then got right to making our appetizer, garlic bread. Of course, no picture. I was too busy trying to get dinner ready.

Dinner for the evening was Orange Almond Chicken and a side salad. I apologize for the quality of the picture. I must have been rushed again.


Lauren's review: Tasty and easy to make.
Matt's review: Not a huge fan of the orange flavor.
Company's review: It's a keeper!
Final decision: Trash it. Only because Matt isn't a huge fan of oranges (I'm learning more and more about this man from this project.... picky.... I'm lucky he picked me!) and I never actually have OJ concentrate on hand. I would have to buy it just for this recipe and then I'm left over with 3/4 of the can that has to get thrown away. However, I would recommend trying this recipe if you have these ingredients. It is good!

We finished a couple bottles of red wine and some chocolate treats that I had made a couple days before. We had such a great night with our friends! We hadn't seen them since October which is ridiculous especially since they live a T ride away! We decided last night on bi-weekly dinner parties! Yippee!

This morning I had a cup of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal with my coffee. Then for lunch, the same old boring sandwich with pretzels and an apple. I'm going to have to start getting creative with lunches soon! It's just such an easy lunch to prepare!


My afternoon snack today was a small can of V8 low-sodium vegetable juice and a part-skim mozzarella stick. It was good but I'm still hungry!


Now Matt and I are going to have a crazy 36 hours before we leave for Aruba. We have to get Bailey to Matt's parents, pick up our dry cleaning, meet up with my family for dinner in Boston tomorrow night, probably do a load of laundry, pack and then get up early Saturday morning to meet my family at the airport for our flight to Aruba! Pictures will follow when we get back next week. I'm sure there will be a ton of great photos and stories from my family's vacation. So stay tuned!

And of course... the project will continue when we get back! So more great recipes to come...

Orange Almond Chicken courtesy of one of Matt's old co-workers from about 3 years ago. I was looking for easy stress free meals and she shared this with me.

INGREDIENTS

1 c. bread crumbs (I used seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs)
1/4 c. finely chopped almonds (I used almond slivers)
1 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed and undiluted
1 T margarine, melted (I used butter. Butter is always better when cooking.)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine bread crumbs, almonds, salt, pepper and parsley. Mix well. Combine orange juice and margarine and dip chicken breasts into mixture then dip into crumb mixture. Bake on a oiled baking sheet at 350 for 55-60 minutes.