Recipe for Mandarin Orange Chicken with Garlic and Thyme

Trying to keep it healthy when one has a huge sweet tooth is not an easy task. I keep dreaming of that Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and all those Christmas cookies. Liqueur Soaked Pound Cakes and Macarons keep clouding my head.

But with the new decade upon us, along with those unwanted extra holiday pounds, I have been gathering delicious healthy dinner recipes instead of bookmarking all the fabulous goodies that I’ve seen floating around.    It’s a tough job…

but one I’ll gladly do for you.

BTW, you look like you lost weight! Yes?

Your looking good!

Today’s healthy choice is a delicious Mandarin Orange Chicken that I made in the Crockpot.  It was so tender that it just fell a part. (As seen in photo) I had a few extra cans of oranges and a lot of garlic hanging around so I just dumped and cook. It was a winner with my family, which to tell you the truth, surprised me. My kind of weekday meal!

I served it with the Lemon Green Beans and Shallots that I found at Maria’s site, Two Peas and Their Pod. Thank you Maria for rounding out my dinner perfectly. It made for a snappy dinner that tantalized my taste buds!

Mandarin Orange Chicken

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 lb - chicken breast, skinless & boneless (Thighs would be good here too!)
• 1 - 8oz can - mandarin oranges,
• 1 tbsp - Ginger, ground
• 1 tsp – Salt
• 5 cloves - garlic (minced)
• 1/2 cup - orange juice
• 1 tsp fresh Thyme
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions

Place chicken in Crockpot. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the cornstarch, to the Crockpot.

Cook on high for about 4 hours or on low for about 8 hours. Note: Times and temps will vary. I think I might have even started with frozen chicken.

Remove chicken and put orange sauce in a small sauce pan. Stir a little water into the cornstarch to make a this paste. Add to orange sauce and cook on medium heat till thickened. Spoon over chicken and enjoy!

Find the Green bean recipe on Maria’s site by clicking here!