Chinese Take-out Made at Home

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe is super easy and Oh So Addicting!

Chicken Coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

   

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. 

Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through.  (I actually used a little more oil and deep fried my chicken because I wanted that crispy texture and authentic taste.)

Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.  (**Note:  Because I deep fried my chicken it was cooked, unlike the recipe calls for so I only had it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes to blend and heat through and only turned it once) 

Add white or fried rice and a yummy vegetable and this is a great, easy Chinese meal!

Southwestern Flavor

Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch

(makes 48 mini rolls, or 24 regular rolls)

For the egg rolls:

2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (I mashed mine up a little bit to help it blend in)
1-9 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry with paper towel (There was a lot of spinach, I will cut this back next time, maybe by half)
2 cups shredded Mexican or Cheddar cheese
1-7oz can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder (I used a little less)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used a little less)
1 package of egg roll or wonton wrappers

 **I added approx a cup of finely shredded chicken breasts that I had sauteed with salt, pepper, and a little onion powder.  This really helped pull everything together! If you wanted to keep this meat free, you could also try rice.

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 425F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix together corn, beans, spinach, cheese, chiles, onions, cumin, chili powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and chicken. Using a small spoon, scoop a small amount of filling onto the wrapper. Starting at a corner, carefully start to roll the wrapper. When it’s slightly rolled, tuck in the two side and continue rolling to the last point. Wet your finger with water and dab a bit on the corner to seal the egg roll. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling, placing them slightly apart on the baking sheet.

Lightly spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes, flipping them at least once during baking. (It took at least 15 minutes on one side to start to crisp up so plan for a little extra time.  It might also help to put a cooling rack on the pan so that the egg rolls get heat on all sides.  I liked the low-fat aspect of baking, but these would be REALLY yummy deep fried!)

For avocado ranch:
3/8 cup mayonnaise
3/8 cup sour cream
3 Tbs buttermilk (I left this out because I didn't have any)
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 green onion, chopped (I will substitute cilantro next time to add another layer of flavor)
1/4 tsp salt
1 avocado, peeled and pitted

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Use immediately. 

You could also add in chopped/chunks of avocado after you've blended or just serve it with mashed avocado. I really liked this dressing, but I will also try putting some slices of avocado into the egg rolls before cooking.

Homemade Tai

Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken 

found on Pinterest

Light Peanut Sauce:

14.5 oz fat free chicken broth, divided

5 tbsp creamy peanut butter

1 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce (I only used 1 tsp and it still had a nice kick)

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

16 oz chicken breast, cut into thin strips

salt and pepper (to taste)

1 Tlb Sriracha chili sauce (Again, I only used 1 tsp)

juice of 1/2 lime

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

8 oz rice noodles

3/4 cup green onion, chopped

1 1/4 cups shredded carrots

1 1/4 cups cup shredded broccoli slaw 

1 cup bean bean sprouts

2 tbsp chopped peanuts 

1 lime, sliced

cilantro for garnish (optional)

For the peanut sauce: Combine 1 cup chicken broth, peanut butter, sriracha, honey, 2 tbsp soy sauce, ginger, and 3 cloves crushed garlic in a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat stirring occasionally until sauce becomes smooth and well blended, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside.

Boil water for the noodles cook pasta according to package instructions.

Season chicken with salt and pepper, sriracha, lime, garlic, ginger and soy sauce.

Heat a large skillet or wok until hot. Add oil and sauté chicken on high heat until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes; remove from heat and set aside.

Add 2 cloves crushed garlic, scallions, carrots, broccoli slaw and/or bean sprouts and salt, sauté until tender crisp, about 1-2 minutes.

Drain noodles and toss with peanut sauce and additional chicken broth if needed to loosen the sauce. When chicken is cooked, toss with noodles.

Divide noodles and chicken between 6 bowls, top with sauteed vegetables, bean sprouts, chopped peanuts (or you can toss everything together to hide the vegetables so your family members don't push them aside!) and garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

This had great flavor!  Easy to make (requires a little planning) and very filling.  My kids liked the rice noodles and peanut butter flavor, but not the kick.  If I were to make it for them again, I would probably leave out the sriracha sauce even though hubby and I liked it.