Clean Eating: Spiced Honey Cranberry Chicken

At the end of last year we kinda fell off the Clean Eating bandwagon. Not on purpose, but life just got so busy and with the holidays/birthday celebration it was just easier to eat out more.

But this is a NEW YEAR!!! I have some goals to meet AND a new Clean Eating magazine to help me accomplish them. And this February 2011 issue is filled with amazing recipes!!!

We made two of them this week and our first one was Spiced Honey Cranberry Chicken. Unfortunately my grocery store no longer had cranberries so we substituted the cranberries for cherries and it was delicious! Here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Spiced Honey Cranberry/Cherry Chicken

Ingredients:
-1 cup brown rice
-Zest 1 orange
-Juice 1 orange
-1 tsp sweet paprika (we just used regular paprika)
-1 tsp sea salt, divided
-1 cup whole cranberries/ cherries fresh or frozen
-1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
-1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 4 equal portions (butterfly breasts into halves if they are more than an inch thick)
-2 tbsp raw honey
-1 tsp ground mustard
-1 tsp dried sage

Instructions:

One: Cook rice according to package directions, first adding zest to pot when you add water. When rice is cooked through, remove from heat and stir in orange juice, paprika, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Two: Chop cranberries/cherries and set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium for 1 minute. Add chicken, swirl to coat in oil and saute' for 3 minutes or until chicken begins to turn golden brown. Flip breasts over and cook for another 3 minutes.

Three: Add cranberries, honey 1/4 cup water, mustard, sage and remaining 1/2 tsp salt to chicken. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 12 minutes. Cut into thickest part of breast to check for doneness. If still pink, continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes.

Four: Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Continue cooking sauce for another 10 minutes or until it has reduced to a thick paste. mound out 3/4 cup rice onto each plate. Serve 4 oz chicken topped with 1 tbsp cranberry sauce.



Calories: 352, Fat: 6 g, Carbs 45g, Fiber 3 g