Friday Food: Gingered Chicken Dinner

The rumors aren't true! I don't always make sweets! Here's a tasty chicken dinner for 2 that requires a bit of forethought because you have to begin marinating the chicken the day before. I didn't have that forethought and started marinating in the morning and it was still good though the flavor would have probably been a bit more intense had it had more time in the marinade.

Also be sure to use instant rice! If you use any other kind, you'll have hard little pellets in your dinner that will never cook through. Take it from previous experience. If you don't have instant rice on hand (I didn't), cook the rice beforehand with some of the leftover marinade and add the cooked rice to the dish before you put it in the oven.

I'll try this recipe again and actually follow the directions next time, but it was good even with my substitutions. I expect it to be even better with the longer marination time and cooking the instant rice in the dish. This recipe came from an old Taste of Home magazine.

Gingered Chicken Dinner

1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 oz each)
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup uncooked instant rice
1 cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed

In a bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Pour half into a large resealable plastic bag; add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate overnight. Cover and refrigerate the remaining marinade.
Drain and discard marinade from chicken. In a small skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in butter for 2-3 minutes on each side. In a greased 8-inch square baking dish, combine rice with reserved marinade; top with chicken.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Top with broccoli; cover and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear.