Weeknight Orange Chicken

I have a very strong love for chinese food. I could probably eat it everyday, although I will attempt that! My favorite dish to get has been orange chicken for as long as I can remember. I love the wonton soup, egg/spring rolls, rangoon, fried rice and everything else but my main chinese squeeze is the orange sauce. When Adam and I were going through costco and I saw that Panda Express bottled their sauce, I became intrigued and really wanted to try it. It is such a good solution to a weeknight meal when you just dont have time.

Verdict: yummy! I added a decent amount of red pepper to give it some kick and cut some of the sweetness which just enhanced the flavor. I wouldn't go crazy and soak your meal in this, so be careful the amount that you put in your pan.

Weeknight Orange Chicken
2 Chicken breasts, pounded thin and cubed
1 head Broccoli, cut into florets
1 large Carrots, cut in half and slivered
Red Pepper Flakes
1/4c to 1/2c, plus more for marinade, Panda Express Bottled Orange Sauce
1/4c flour
1.5 tbsp Olive Oil

Place chicken in a plastic bag and add enough sauce to coat all of the pieces. Place in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Place broccoli and carrots in large small skillet, lightly coated with cooking spray. Cook on low for 8 minutes, or until tender. Remove from pan.

Take chicken out of marinade. Place flour in a ziploc bag and add chicken. Shake until all pieces are coated with flour.

Add Olive Oil to skillet on medium/high heat. Place chicken in the pan and cook until browned on both sides, about 7 minutes or until almost completely cooked through. Remove from pan.

Wipe the skillet clean and add the orange sauce. Cook on medium heat until it begins to bubble. Add vegetable and chicken and stir until everything is coated. Add red pepper flakes to taste. Turn to medium/high heat and cook until chicken is completely done. Serve over brown rice.

Easy Peasy Fried Rice

When I decided to cook some Mongolian Beef last night, I wanted to do something other than regular brown rice as the side dish. The logical solution is obviously Fried Rice! This is extremely easy and quick and also a great way to use up some leftover plain rice that you have sitting in your fridge. Also, I always think that it's fun to use the wok, the way everything smoothly slips and slides around the sides. I do have to say that the sauce of the beef went really well with this dish, better than adding more soy before eating.

Easy Peasy Fried Rice
2 cups Brown Rice
1/2 package Frozen Carrots and Peas
2 Large Eggs
1/2 White Onion
3 Green Onions, chopped
4-5 tbsp Soy Sauce (add according to taste, I didn't measure)
1.5 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Olive Oil
1.5 tsp Rice Vinegar

Cook rice according to package and set in the fridge until cold, about 30 minutes or overnight.

Place your wok on high heat and add olive oil followed by peas, carrots and white onion. Toss and cook until tender. Move vegetables to one side of the wok and crack eggs on the other side. Let sit for about 30 seconds, then scramble.

Add rice, Sesame Oil, Rice Vinegar and Soy Sauce. Toss to coat and combine and cook until heated through. Add green onions and serve immediately.

Spicy Chicken Fried Rice

One of my favorite things to make is this kung pao chicken. This week I made a huge batch and divided it up into 5 different meals for lunches and dinners. I think that it tastes even better the next day, and since I had bagged the rice and chicken mix together, I thought it would be perfect fried up with an egg. It is definitely hitting the spot and incorporates all of the food that I need for the evening.

Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
Kung Pao Chicken
Brown Rice, chilled
1 Egg
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Red Pepper Flakes
Kosher salt

Place oil in a wok or skillet and place over high heat until warmed. Add the rice/chicken mix and cook for 3 minutes.

Move all of the food to one side of the wok/skillet and add a little cooking spray to the open space. Crack the egg and scramble, incorporating with the other food once it begins to form.

Add red pepper flakes and salt. Toss for a minute. Remove from heat.

Kung Pao Chicken

Tonight I used my wok for the first time and it was amazing! I loved how it cooked my food and it came out great. I made Kung Pao Chicken, the same recipe I used before but I think that it came out even better. I only used one piece of chicken but kept the same amount of sauce and man, was it spicy! It had great flavor so I think I will double the sauce recipe from now on.I especially like that this is really a one 'pot' meal. With the amount of broccoli and carrots I made, this actually turned into 3 portions for me so it will last me a good while which is always a plus.

Potstickers, Round 2

Friday night, I made potstickers again, but this time I made a couple changes. I added 1 carrot, peeled into thin strips and them minced, as well as 1/2 cup of a mushroom blend that included portabella and shitake minced. I also used the smaller wonton wrappers. The amount of mixture filled every last wonton wrapper, so I had plenty to freeze. Now, when I want a snack that isn't going to break my calories, I can just reach in the freezer for these and cook them up in a pan!

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry

In the search for a great shrimp recipe I came across a lot of asian/stirfry ideas. I really enjoy spicy foods and love things that resemble a better version of chinese take out. I was inspired by a recipe I found on allrecipes and tailored it to what I had on hand to cook with, so I didnt have to go to the store. I went off of some great suggestions from previous people who cooked it and added some things of my own. There's only 161 calories per serving and I went ahead and served with brown rice. It was very spicy so I would suggest limiting the amount of chili powder you add if you like your food a little more tame. It was a good dish and I liked that it was easy to make, perfect for a weeknight! Also, I didn't have hoison sauce and was set on not going to the store, so I made my own and the recipe follows.

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry (inspired by allrecipes.com)

1 lb Shrimp, peeled

2/3 Red Onion, chopped

2/3 cup Carrots, sliced

1/2 cup Peas, cooked

3/4 cup Broccoli florrets

5 Green Onions, sliced

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tbsp Olive Oil

4 tbsp Garlic, minced

2 tbsp Hoison Sauce (recipe follows)

1 tbsp Chili Powder

2 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/8 cup White Wine Vinegar

Shrimp Marinade

2tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Garlic

1 tsp Splenda

Pinch Ginger

Directions

Steam broccoli and carrots, until tender but not fully coooked. In the meantime, toss shrimp lightly in cornstarch. Put in a plastic bag and add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp splenda and a pinch of ginger. Set in fridge to marinate until veggies are steamed.

Place a skillet over medium/high heat and add the oil. Toss in shrimp, green onion, red onion and garlic. Cook until shrimp is no longer translucent.

Add the hoison sauce, chili powder and soy sauce to the shrimp mix. Stir and then add ginger, red pepper, black pepper and white wine vinegar. Simmer for a minute or 2. Add in broccoli, carrots and peas and toss to coat. Serve with rice.

Hoison Sauce

4 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Peanut Butter

1 tbsp Honey

2 tsp White Wine Vinegar

1/8 tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp Olive Oil

1/8 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Few drops of hot sauce

Combine in a bowl and mix until peanut butter is evenly distributed. This made about 2x what I needed.

Potstickers

The other day when I was looking for chinese/asian recipes, I found these potstickers by The Way The Cookie Crumbles. I had to give them a try. Since I had some leftover wonton wrappers in the freezer, I pulled them out to thaw and actually had all of the ingredients that I needed. This recipe is simple and REALLY good. Mine didn't turn out as pretty, but they were delicious and that's what really matters!

Potstickers (adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles)

For Filling:

3 cups minced napa cabbage leaves (I bought the prepackaged cabbage and just minced a bit more, using the entire bag)

¾ teaspoon table salt

6 minced scallions

4 teaspoons soy sauce

1½ teaspoons minced or grated ginger

1 medium garlic clove minced (1 teaspoon)

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper (I just cracked pepper over mixture at the end to what I thought it needed)
Wrappers (I used just wonton wrappers, the large ones, and I trimmed down to size once filled)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used Olive Oil)

1 cup water

Toss cabbage with the salt in colander set over a bowl and let stand until cabbage begins to wilt. I left it out while I headed to the gym for about 45 minutes. Press the cabbage gently with rubber spatula to squeeze out any excess moisture, the transfer to a medium bowl. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until mixture is cold, at least 30 minutes.

Since I used the big wrappers, I got about 8 potstickers with this mix. I put the wrappers in a diamond shape and added 1 1/2 tablespoon of the mix, then wet the outline with some water and folded over to seal close. I cut off the excess wrapper with a knife.

Brush 1 tablespoon of the oil over the bottom of a nonstick skillet and arrange the dumplings in the skillet, with a flat side facing down. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook the potstickers, without moving, until golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low, add ½ cup of the water, and cover immediately. Continue to cook, covered, until most of the water is absorbed and the wrappers are slightly translucent, about 10 minutes.

Uncover the skillet, increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook, without stirring, until the dumpling bottoms are well browned and crisp, 4 minutes more.

Plate and serve with Scallion Dipping Sauce.

Scallion Dipping Sauce (adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles)

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar)

2 tablespoons mirin (I substituted with 1.5 tbsp rice wine vinegar mixed with 1/4 tsp sugar)

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon chili oil (I used chili powder)

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil (I omitted)

1 medium scallion , white and green parts, minced
Combine all ingredients in bowl and serve.

There are lots of tips on wrapper sizes and cooking times on the original website.

CHINESE!!

Tonight, I completely impressed myself. Usually you attempt to make chinese at home and it's nothing close to what you get out, but what I made tonight was equally as good as anything at a chinese restaurant! With the help of the Whats Cooking ladies, I got two incredible recipes, one for Mongolian Beef and one for Kung Pao Chicken (George likes it spicy!!). I would recommend these to anyone, its a lot healthier than eating out, totally fulfilled my craving and was easy. I made two at once so if I can do it, so can anyone. I adapted the Mongolian Beef from here at Cook Like A Champion and the Kung Pao Chicken from here at Proceed with Caution.

Kung Pao Chicken

For the marinade:

2 teaspoons soy sauce (I used light)

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon sesame oil (I used olive oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the sauce:

4 tablespoons dark soy sauce (I used light, the same as the marinade)

2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1.5 teaspoons sugar

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 carrots, sliced

1 rib celery (I omitted and added sugar snap peas)

1 small can sliced water chestnuts (I omitted)

2 cloves garlic (I used 1 tbsp of the preminced garlic)

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

2 green onions (I used more because I like onions!)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

6 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, (I used olive oil and didn’t measure it out, I just put as little as I need to coat the pan)

1/2 cup peanuts or cashews (I omitted)

a few drops sesame oil, optional (I omitted)

Directions:
Add chicken and marinade ingredients to a bowl or ziplock bag, adding the cornstarch last, and marinate for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice carrots and any other veggies you want to put in. Chop the green onions into 1/2 inch pieces, and grate the garlic and ginger(or just use the pre-grated like I did).

Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a large saucepan or wok over medium high to high heat. Add olive oil and allow to get hot. Add carrots and veggies and toss occasionally until cooked. Remove vegetables from pan.Add olive oil to pan and allow to get hot. Add marinated chicken and cook until nearly done. Remove chicken from the pan.

Add olive oil to pan and allow to get hot. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add red pepper flakes and ginger and cook for a few seconds.

Add the sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pan, toss to coat in the sauce. Stir in the peanuts and green onion, heat through. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil, if using. Serve with rice.

Mongolian Beef
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise (I cut into small pieces and used 1.5 pounds)

1/4 cup of cornstarch (I didnt measure, just put a small amount in the bowl)
3 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided (I didnt measure, I just went by how much the pan needed)

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup of low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar (measured, not packed)
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 large green onion, sliced thinly (I got a bundle and used half for each recipe)

I added snow peas and carrots also

Directions:

Pat steak slices dry and add to a bowl with corn starch
Shake off excess corn starch
Heat oil in a large wok or non-stick pan over medium-high heat

Add the garlic and ginger, stir until fragrant
Add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes

Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl
Turn the heat to high and add oil to the wok

Add the beef, carrots and pea pods and cook until browned on all sides and veggies are tender
Pour the sauce back into the wok and cook until the sauce reaches desired consistency (I let it sit for a while on low heat until it got thick)

Add the green onions (a pinch reserved for garnish), stir, and remove from heat.
Plate, top with remaining onions, and serve