The Incredible Shrinking Me

Ah. The mouth-wateringly gorgeous variant of Duck a Lorange, which I can’t make because my husband thinks ducks are cute and therefore should not be eaten. ;)

I look through a lot of recipe books as a post-WLSer, and I find myself constantly on the look-out for easily adaptable recipes. So I found a version of this in a recipe book my husband purchased for me for Christmas. I changed it up a little, and we had it twice in one day!

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs or drumsticks, skinned
45ml / 3Tbsp brandy
300ml / 1/2 pint / 1.25 C fresh orange juice
3 spring onions, chopped
10ml / 2t cornflour
90ml / 6T fromage frais
salt and pepper

Cook the chicken pieces in a non-stick or heavy frying pan over medium-low heat for 8 – 10 minutes, turning frequently until evenly browned all over. No need for oil or butter. Just cook them directly in the pan.

Stir in the brandy, orange juice and spring onions and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced.

Blend the cornflour with a little water in a small bowl, then mix into the fromage frais. Stir this into a small pan and cook over medium heat until boiling. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon the chicken and cooking juices on to plates and pour sauce over it. Serve with rice or pasta.

I made this first for lunch yesterday, cooking all 8 pieces of chicken. I served it then with pasta and a little cheese. My husband and I both liked it, however I spooned far too much of the orange sauce and far too little of the white sauce onto it, which made it slightly less than amazing.

For dinner, I served it with rice and remade the white sauce (there was some left from earlier, but I didn’t like the idea of reheating it) and used quite a lot of it for the meal. We both agreed it was much better. And this despite the fact that I had to microwave the chicken from lunch!!

As a tip, I actually stored the leftover chicken in a bowl with the orange sauce covering it. I microwaved it that way, as well, which I think kept the chicken moist and not rubbery in the least.

Also, I wanted to make a note about how I found this recipe.  As I am currently out of work, the economy is hitting us hard. A two pack of chicken breasts is somewhere in the region of 4 quid at the moment, which is a terrible economy. But I noticed that chicken thighs and drumsticks were INCREDIBLY cheap! I got a pack of 6 thighs AND 6 legs for THREE QUID!  Since a serving size is 2 portions (though I eat one and my husband eats three), that’s 3 meals for 3 pounds. Can’t beat it!  So I looked specifically for recipes that used thighs/legs, and I’m so glad I did. It’s high in protein, low in fat and calories, and cheap and easy to make!