Orange Dijon Chicken

By JimMac

This recipe freezes beautifully, making it great for OAMC. It can be made ahead in batches and frozen for a large party. One recipe feeds about 16 people. Six times the recipe makes a buffet entree for 100.
Serve with rice pilaf.

Ingredients

• Orange-mustard Sauce:
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 18 (5 to 6 pounds) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut into 36 pieces*
• 3 tablespoons olive or salad oil
• Boneless chicken thigh meat also works, and stays juicier if held over a long time.
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate
• 6 tablespoons Grand Marnier (orange liqueur)
• 1 1/2 cups white wine

Preparation

Step 1

Coat chicken pieces with flour mixture then sauté in oil until outside is brown.
To cook immediately, place in casserole.
To pre-make and freeze, place browned chicken pieces in one or more large freezer zipper bag in a single layer.

Make the orange mustard sauce. Thicken with:
6 tablespoons flour, mixed with
6 tablespoons orange juice, regular strength.

Stir this slurry briskly into the boiling sauce, reduce heat just to a bubble, and cook until slightly thickened.
To cook immediately, pour sauce over chicken and bake covered for 40 minutes at 350 F.
To freeze and reheat: Cool sauce rapidly by placing the pan in a larger pan or bowl of ice and stirring until cool. Pour into chicken bags, press out air and seal. Freeze laying flat in single layers.
When preparing to cook, move the frozen chicken to the refrigerator 48 hours ahead of the cooking date. Pam or oil the baking dishes, layer the thawed sauce and chicken, and bake covered at about 350 to 400 degrees for 40 minutes until hot and bubbly.

To reheat in electric roasters, butter/Pam the pans well, place 3 thawed recipes in each roaster, and reheat coverd at 325 degrees for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.