Sweet and Sour Chicken

I make a lot of chicken. We eat it at least 3 times a week if not more. So I am always on the look out for different recipes. I have seen this recipe on soooooo many blogs. I wasnt sure it would be my thing because I dont think I have ever had Sweet and Sour chicken from a Chinese restaurant. But lately I have had a craving for Chinese food so I decided all these other people like it so maybe my family would as well. I also came upon a great book and a new way to look at food. Its called Food Rules by Michael Pollan. He is a NY Times Best Selling Author who gives basic food rules you should try to apply to your life. One of them that sticks out in my head is to only eat junk food if you cook it. Reason being you would be less likely to eat french fries if you had to make them everytime you eat them. This is also true in my house for take out. Pizza has already been perfected so now I believe I can check off Chinese as well.

If you have any affection for Chinese food at all you MUST make this chicken. I am not going to make you read on to find out what I thought, I am going to spoil it now. This is quite possibly one of the most delicious meals I have ever made in my kitchen. HOLY CROW it is amazing. I could have eaten the entire pan myself. Now I understand why so many people make it. While I wont be making it every week, if you are craving Chinese make this yourself, its better then anything you will find in a restaurant. On little hint, this does take an hour in the oven, and is slightly more involved then most of my recipes but its completely worth it and is very quick to get into the oven, but just hangs out there for awhile.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

borrowed from My Kitchen Cafe

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

Kung Pao Chicken

September....really?

I mean it felt like September today and everyone stopped complaining about the humidity but REALLY? Didn't this summer go incredibly fast?

I cant believe I will be making butternut squash soup, stuffing casseroles, cranberry everything, meatloaf galore and going apple picking soon. Maybe the fact that my 2 little buggers don't allow me to sit at the beach every day from 9-5 makes it seem like I don't get to fully enjoy the summers on the beach the way God himself intended.

OH well, at least there is something to be excited about...soup, soup and more soup. I love soup and I make a lot of it. So be prepared for the increase in soup posts. I also do lots of casseroles. Who doesn't Love a good casserole? Apparently some people don't because I have heard this and I am shocked. SO if you are one of those people who don't eat soup and don't like casseroles, I don't know what to tell you......make a suggestion on what you would like to see more of (with the exception of fish, mushrooms or shrimp) and I will do my best to accommodate you. But really, if there is some recipe you have been searching for and you would like me to perfect it for you, let me know. I have done so with meatloaf and turkey burgers. After so many attempts I finally found ones that I like. Although I admit, I still try out new recipes for meatloaf and turkey burgers just to make sure. Weird...I know.

Before I forget thanks to all those who have signed up after my plee yesterday...but I know there are more of you lurkers out there. Come on, admit you follow me....I can see you---

So here's dinner tonight--the picture doesn't look so good. For some reason you cant see the sauce. I think I put it on the plate before it thickened so it looks like there isn't anything on it, and I am not sure I would try this recipe if I saw the picture but I promise its false bad advertising

Kung Pao Chicken

from cooking light

• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 1 tablespoon ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World), divided
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped salted peanuts

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add broccoli and 2 teaspoons ginger to pan; sauté 1 minute.

Add water.

Cover; cook 2 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender.

Remove broccoli from pan; keep warm.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan; add remaining 1 teaspoon ginger, crushed red pepper, and chicken.

Cook 4 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned, stirring frequently.

Combine broth and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, and stir with a whisk.

Add broth mixture to pan; cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly.

Return broccoli mixture to pan; toss to coat. Sprinkle with peanuts.

VERDICT

LOVE this dish. I have made this many times so this wasn't really a surprise. Its so easy to make. No crazy weird ingredients. Love the broccoli cooked this way and I actually make it just like this quite often as a quick side dish. It could have used a little more pepper flakes tonight but I tried to serve it to Jackson, so I didn't want to make it too hot, but my mistake toddlers weren't eating dinner tonight. Is it just like in the restaurants? Well no, but it has 239 calories and only 7.9 grams of fat and for that this dish is amazingly delicious. If I didn't tell you it was cooking light and give you the low down you wouldn't even have guessed it was light. Which works for me. For me this is an easy go to meal that comes together super duper fast, its healthy, (usually) the whole family will eat it and I like it.

Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Super model...she is already endorsing products at such a young age.

Ok let's get right to dinner, skip the chit chat, times a wasting, I am tired and the dishwasher still needs to be loaded and the laundry needs to be folded.

Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing
adapted from Dinners for a Year and Beyond

serves about 4--I served 2 with my modifications

3 - 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless thin cut
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups panko
1/4 flour
salt and pepper

Dressing ingredients
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce---I was out of Hoisin so I used another tbs. of BBQ sauce
juice of 1/2 small orange--comes out to 3 tbs.
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
3 tablespoons brown sugar
dash of red pepper flakes

Salad ingredients
chopped romaine lettuce
cucumber slices
red pepper strips--I used Orange
sugar snap peas
1/4 cup almonds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Season the flour with salt and pepper.
Put the flour, beaten eggs and panko in 3 separate, shallow dishes.
Dip in the chicken in the flour ,the egg and then the panko.
Place on a baking sheet coated with foil, then coated with cooking spray (cuts down on clean up).
Spray chicken with a light coating of cooking spray.
Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned.
Set aside.
When slightly cooled, slice into strips.

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine romaine, cucumber slices, red pepper strips, and sugar snap peas. Separate salad onto 4 large plates and top with sliced chicken and almonds.
Drizzle with the dressing.

VERDICT
I really really liked this salad. It came together lightening quick. Not too much chopping. Also the dressing was very good. It has barely any oil in it and the flavor was really powerful with just a little bit. I cant believe I didn't have all the ingredients again. Bad me (hand slap). I have to say I am not a huge fan of Panko. It doesn't have a lot of flavor. I also don't like the big hunk of bread crumb. I think I need to try another brand or crunch them in the bag more or something. When you bake it, it really doesn't have much flavor without the dressing. Thankfully the dressing perked it right up. You could easily use rotisserie chicken in this dish as well and skip the whole breading and baking of the chicken. I think some mandarin oranges would be a nice addition as well and wish I would have thought of it before I was writing out my verdict. Oh well, maybe next time.

CHINESE CHICKEN NOODLE SALAD

The sun was out AGAIN!!!
So it was the perfect night for a light and tasty salad that has become a favorite in my kitchen. I do cut some corners and changed it from the original but I think I probably made it better. To answer some questions I have gotten from those who kindly check out my blog--Yes I do take the pictures myself, I only make one plate look pretty and that's usually the one I eat. Doug gets his thrown on a different plate. Oh, I bought a few single colored plates to take the pictures, so no I dont have 4 sets of dishes and I bought some new ones today at Marshall's so hopefully it wont get boring and my favorite...yes if you would like to be invited for dinner just let me know when and what I can make you :)
CHINESE CHICKEN NOODLE SALAD
inspired by a recipe of the same name from Eating Well Magazine May/June 2009

INGREDIENTS
1 3-ounce package low-fat ramen-noodle soup mix
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil

3 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
5 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
5 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cups shredded green cabbage or packaged cole-slaw mixture
2 cups baby romaine or mixed greens
1 medium carrot, shredded
3 scallions, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Crumble ramen noodles onto a large rimmed baking sheet (discard seasoning packet). Add almonds, sesame seeds and canola oil; toss to coat. Bake for 5 minutes. Stir, then bake until the noodles are golden brown, about 2-3 minutes more. *****You MUST watch this closely. Depending on the heat of your oven they might brown in 5 minutes. I have burned it twice so its very easy to go from just barely golden to burnt. I strongly recommend buying more then one pack of ramen just in case the 1st time you make it. If they weren't so good in the salad I would say forget it, but they make a nice crunch so you cant leave them out.
Let cool on the pan on a wire rack.

3. Meanwhile, combine orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid. Whisk or shake until the sugar has dissolved.

4. Just before serving, combine the shredded chicken, cabbage, greens, carrot and scallions in a large bowl. Add the toasted noodle mixture and the dressing; mix well. Can actually be dressed ahead of time, I think it gets better if it sits a bit

VERDICT:

OK so I have to say it, I love this salad. I could easily eat it for lunch or dinner 3-4 times a week. The original version poached chicken in ginger but I don't think the salad lacks flavor by skipping that step. I like salads because they are quick & easy and I think that just adds another step that I don't have time for. The original recipe also doesn't add the greens and has more cabbage but I think that is too much cabbage for one salad and the extra greens don't add any calories but makes it a bigger dinner salad. Maybe someday I will try the original version but I think its perfect the way I make it.

Chicken & Cashews

Chicken & Cashews
Borrowed from Cooking Light May 2009

So tonight was my first voyage into really caring about following directions and then having to photograph the meal before I ate it.....a whole other added stress.


So here is my 1st meal-

Ingredients
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons dry sherry
4 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped green onions (about 3 green onions)
1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted cashews

Preparation
1. Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sherry, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and chicken in a large bowl; toss well to coat. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch, broth, oyster sauce, and honey in a small bowl.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from pan. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Return chicken mixture to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth mixture. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with green onions and cashews.
Rice pilaf: Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup water, 1/2 cup long-grain rice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro.


THE VERDICT:

I wasn't blown away. I ripped it from my magazine so I never read any of the reviews until just now when I cut and pasted the recipe here. I felt the oyster sauce was kind of over powering and I would 1/2 it next time or just sub it with hoision sauce. I also used Success Boil in the Bag brown rice, which I really like and it saves time. I felt like for the amount of cutting and the many steps involved it isn't something I would rush to make again, but if you are looking for good authentic Chinese food made healthier then this would be one of the dishes I would suggest. I do suggest doing all the chopping before you start cooking because the steps move very quickly.

Bottom line---eh, I have a killer kung po chicken that I think is easier and tastes better.

BUT--someone in the house gave his toddler seal of approval--GO Figure?




Tomorrow is Jackson's 2nd Birthday and I can't believe my baby boy is 2!
Happy Birthday!!!!