Herbed Orange Chicken

This is one healthy dish I often serve my family. My 3 boys love it! It's baked, chicken breasts as main, coated and soaked in fresh orange juice, mixed herbs and spices. I can go rice less  with this viand with just some crackers to match.

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken breasts (skin removed and sliced thinly)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated quickmelt cheese or Parmesan cheese
• slice remaining half orange thinly 
• 1 cup of sliced baby potatoes or any vegetable of your choice. 
• 1 cup fresh parsley (chopped)

Marinade:

• 1/2 cup of fresh orange juice or half an orange squeezed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 whole fresh garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

To Marinate:

• In a bowl, rinse chicken, drain.
• Season chicken breasts with 2 tbsp olive oil, spread evenly, add a little if necessary.
• In a separate bowl, mix fresh orange juice, minced garlic, thyme, oregano, salt & pepper.
• Pour orange & herb mixture with the chicken breasts then spread evenly.
• Marinate chicken for 10-15 minutes.

Cooking Directions:

• Heat oven at 200C.
• Grease your baking dish with 2 tbsp olive oil or butter.
• Arrange marinated chicken on baking dish, spread evenly.
• Top with chopped baby potatoes and parsley.
• Pour remaining marinade with the chicken including the juice. 
• Bake for 20 minutes. 
• After 20 minutes, gently remove baking dish out of the oven. Careful it's hot!
• Top baked chicken with grated quickmelt cheese and orange slices.
• Then bake it again for another 3-5 minutes.

In case you're wondering why you have to bake the cheese over the chicken separately... For me, I just want to avoid the cheese from browning too much that might give the dish a burnt taste. You can also use Mozzarella cheese as topping.

Enjoy!