Orange Dijon Chicken

I know you.

Somewhere around 11:36 pm on December 31st, between your 5th cupcake and 2nd keg stand of the evening, amongst 256 of your closest friends, you declared that 2012 would be YOUR year.

It would be the year that you finally throw away your Abercrombie and Fitch sweatpants collection. For 2012, you resolved to meditate more (or at all) and listen to Howard Stern religiously (yes, they do go together). Indeed, 2012 would be the year that you finally drop those last 10 pounds and give Giselle Bundchen a run for her money.

You’re still waiting to get your Sirius hooked up and you (foolishly) learned that meditation in those Abercrombie sweatpants is a bad idea. I’m referring to the numbness in your thighs and that exposed butt crack. How those two are managed at the same time by the same pair of pants, you’ll never know.

But the pounds – you’ve been working on that. Just open the refrigerator: it’s filled with greek yogurt, cottage cheese, almond milk, egg whites, berries, greens, and chicken. A lot of chicken in fact. Grilled chicken, poached chicken, chicken salad, chicken strips, and another package of chicken, raw and waiting to be cooked. That package right there is making you shudder. And contemplate a 45-day dry-aged, bone-in New York Strip, cooked medium and snuggled up to a fluffy pile of parmesan mashed potatoes.

I know.

If it were me, I’d say screw the chicken and get ye to the steakhouse. Which would probably explain why I’m still living in leggings and using my skinny jeans as dust rags.

But, that chicken. You need to cook it because it’ll go bad and the steak, ohthatjuicysteak!, it can wait. Really. It will still be there next week.

I’ve got something new for you and that pound o’ raw chicken. It’s super easy, too. Mix up some herbs, orange marmalade, low fat mayo, and dijon mustard. Slather it over the chicken, sprinkle it with some Panko and bake it.

It’s tasty and comforting. It’s a texture bonanza. I swear to you that it won’t blow your diet, and I swear to you it’ll make you forget about the steak.

Just for tonight, at least.

But those egg whites and that cottage cheese also in the fridge? I can’t help you with those. You should totally throw those away and eat a Pop Tart instead.

Orange Dijon Chicken

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 teaspoon herbs de provence
1/4 cup Panko crumbs

Preheat the oven to 375.

Arrange the chicken breasts in a shallow baking pan so that they are flat and not touching. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the orange marmalade, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and herbs de provence. Spread the mixture over the chicken breasts and sprinkle the Panko evenly across the covered breasts.

Bake until golden and the juices run clear, approximately 50 minutes.