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What's for Dinner Tonight?: Orange Rosemary Chicken


The boy is off to Florida today for a week. A whole week! So tonight my husband and I are going to sit down to a nice, civilized meal. No texting at the table.

No eating like it's the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest on Coney Island. No kids sitting outside on my step watching us while we eat. No one standing up periodically to make sure said kids are, in fact, sitting on said step watching us eat still.

A nice, civilized meal. Yup, that's what I'm after.

Tonight's main course is Orange Rosemary Chicken found on damndelicious.net. I love chicken and I love the flavors it takes on when paired with citrus. I'm excited to try this recipe and it couldn't be any easier to make.

Start with 8 chicken thighs. The recipe recommends bone-in, skin-on but I used boneless, skinless. Season these with dried rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper.

In a large, oven-proof skillet melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the chicken thighs into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. It smells heavenly at this point. But, wait! It gets better! Once the thighs are browned, remove from the pan and set aside.

To the pan add in garlic and cook until brown, about 1 minute. Then add in orange juice, chicken stock, honey, maple syrup, rosemary and salt and pepper to taste.

At this point, enter husband. He's a sauce guy and loves it when I make anything in sauce. I'm still learning as I cook, but he's just a naturally good cook. I don't season things enough, I'll admit that, so at this point he took over the seasoning of the sauce. There is a lot of sweet to the sauce with the oj, honey and maple syrup. He added salt and pepper to the sauce three separate times until it was just right. I need to get better at doing that, tasting is the key to seasoning perfectly I'm learning.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Once that's done add your chicken thighs back into the pan and place the whole pan into a 400F oven. Don't they look happy?

Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. Garnish with parsley if desired, then serve.

This was such an easy recipe to make and tasted delicious!!! The sauce thickened up even more in the oven and was yummy with the chicken. I served this with white rice and steamed broccoli and I've got leftovers for tomorrow. The sauce my husband made was perfect and he made sure to tell me not to let a single drop go to waste! It was a great dinner!

Orange Rosemary Chicken from damndelicious.net

Ingredients:

  • 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Orange Rosemary Glaze:

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400F.

  2. Season chicken with thyme, oregano, salt and pepper, to taste; set aside.

  3. Melt butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.

  4. Add garlic to the skillet ad cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in orange juce, chicken stock, maple syrup, honey and rosemary; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

  5. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minute. Return chicken to the skillet.

  6. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching and internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.

  7. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

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