Orange and Balsamic Chicken

Yesterday, we celebrated Ken's birthday at his house. A large portion of my family was there and his sister Laverna was there as well. It was a good time and Ken put together a great spread. I baked him a chocolate cake Friday night. I wasn't feeling well most of Friday and we decided it was an allergic reaction to some mold I ran into. So, I baked the cake and that was about all I did. In other words, I pretty much left the kitchen a disaster. I'm not a neat cook.

Then today, I knew I needed to make some more ratatouille. It really has become a staple for me. But I ended up with quite a mess. So, rather than stopping there, I decided today, to try a new recipe Orange and Balsamic Chicken. Although it looks good, it was pretty bland. The more orange juice you can get into the bite, the better, but still I doubt I will ever make it again.

I've just scraped off the outer surface of the mess in the kitchen from all the cooking, and there's quite a bit left to do yet. I also have to get some grading done...I always have to get some grading done, but at least today, I have an extra hour because of the end of daylight savings time.

Here's the recipe for Orange and Balsamic Chicken. It came from page 19 of the November 2010 edition of Everyday Food . I put it on a bed of rice. Maybe that's where I went wrong. If you try it, I hope you have better luck with it than I did.

Ingredients
4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 1.5 pounds total)
Course salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 unpeeled orange cut into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450°. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large ovenproof skillet(I used a cast-iron skillet), heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until golden and crisp, 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and pour off fat from skillet. Return chicken, skin side up, to skillet and transfer to oven. Bake until cooked through, 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
2. Heat skillet over medium and add vinegar and orange wedges. Cook stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until orange begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. To serve, return chicken to skillet and toss with orange and sauce.

Just the chicken alone makes 4 servings with 279 calories, 20.7 grams fat,and .08 grams fiber. That equals 7 weight watchers' points. It wasn't worth it.