Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

Gluten what??

So the BF and I are considering a low gluten diet (we've discussed it at length, gluten free probably wont happen....) for various health reasons. Plus we might lose some weight. Bonus! So this week we went meat and veggie shopping and I set up a weekly menu. The amount of planning makes me head hurt. I am not a planner. I'm more of a "whats in the fridge that I can cook in ten minutes before I eat the plate" kinda girl.

Now this is a play off of a recipe I used earlier this week to make beef and snow peas that I found off of Pinterest. I wanted to make it something different with a thinner sauce. I think the results we're pretty good,  and I was informed I could make it again using shrimp anytime I wanted. Wasn't that nice? But I will say it was REALLY good!

The Ingredients
Oil
Chicken, cut into bits
Cornstarch (enough to lightly coat chicken)
About 3/4 of soy sauce (remember I dont measure anything... sorry)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp of orange zest (this was left over from another project and i didnt want to waste it)
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
2 Tbsps brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (fresh would be better but i was lazy)
Brown Rice (or any rice you want. We like brown, you like white. It's all good)


What to do
1.) Make the rice and set it aside
2.) Cut up your chicken into about 1 inch pieces. Dust with cornstarch and toss to cover and then set aside.
3.) Cut up your broccoli into bite sized pieces. (you know the size of your mouth better than I do so I'll let you decide what bit size is)
4.) In a seperate bowl mix the soy sauce, sugar, ginger, pepper flakes, garlic, and orange zest. Mix it up good and set aside.
5.) Pull out your wok (PLEASE tell me you have a wok, this will be awkward if you don't) and set it on a burner on high. Add some oil (I used peanut oil because it was on the counter). Let it get nice and warm.
6.) Carefully add the chicken so that you dont get splattered with oil (that hurts, trust me). Stir it until lightly browned and cooked through.
7.) Add the soy mixture and stir until chicken is well coated. Quickly add the broccoli and keep stirring it all together until the broccoli is at a doneness you like. I like mine with a crunch so only cooked 2-3 minutes.
8.) Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Better than what we get from take out. And healthier. AND I can pronounce all the ingredients. AND I have leftovers for the next day. So much win!

General Tso's Chicken

Oh how I love Chinese food.  But it doesn't always love me. It's a shame really. Fortunately thanks to pinterest (my new favorite cookbook) I can make it at home. This one was a bit of a challenge. Mostly because making a caramel sauce scares me. Stuff of nightmares really. Hate it. But totally worth it.

So, if you want the link to an awesome DIY Chinese take out (great the next day for making co-workers drool at lunch time) here it is. Your welcome. It's worth it. Trust me.

Now if you looked at the link already (impatient thing that you are) that grocery list looks intimidating. Its not. I live in the middle of nowhere where's-the-nearest-outhouse-and-muskrat-skinning-shed eastern shore of MD. Seriously, when my mother moved here she went to the store looking for lasagna

noodles and ricotta cheese, and the store person didn't know what that was, let alone carry it. Its improved a bit over the years needless to say. But I digress....

This is totally worth the walk around in the ethnic food section of your store. Or better yet a visit to Wegman's (aka Mecca, aka My Happy Place).  It's like a game of hide and seek but you will find it eventually. And then you have the stuff to make LOTS of this stuff and feed your face FOREVER. Its just that good :)

So... Directions (again this is what i used feel free to follow the recipe link exactly, turns out good either way)

 Three chicken breasts still semi-frozen to make it easier to cut (I let them thaw the rest of the way as i got everything else together)

1 egg beaten mixed with about 1-2 tbsp water to make a nice egg wash

1 cup flour
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp salt

1. Mix up the flour and stuff well.  Put half in one bowl and half in another. I hope you already have the egg wash in a third bowl..... Line them up! DRY, WET, DRY

2. Dip the chicken in the dry stuff, then the egg, then into the next dry set. Place on a REALLY well greased pan or tin foil. (Mine stuck a bit to the pan, but thats normal for me)

3. Repeat till all the chicken is done (terribly tedious) and then pop in the oven at 375 for about 25-30 mins until cooked. Flip it half way through if you are so inclined. (please be so inclined, it tastes better that way)

Next set!

The SAUCE!! (This is done in two parts, hang with me. Its worth it)

4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar (white wine vinegar is fine in a pinch)
¼ cup water
2 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
2 tbsp hot chilli paste or sauce (use more or less to taste if you don’t like it very hot)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp corn starch
3 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1. Mix ALL that stuff up up together in a bowl and set it aside. (Side note I used 1.5 Tbsp of the chili sauce and that was the perfect amt for us. Also freeze your ginger afterwards to save it for later use)

1 cup sugar
¼ cup water

2. Put THAT stuff on a boiler. Your are going to make a caramel (insert scary music here). 

3. Bring it to a boil over medium heat and WATCH that stuff. Like HARD. And stir it alot. It takes time. I'm paranoid so I cooked at a lower heat and it took about 10 mins. Basically you boil and watch it until it starts to turn faintly brown. Thats the caramel magic happening. Once it turns brownish, yank it off the heat real quick.

4. Give the bowl of red ingredients a quick mix (You did leave the whisk in that bowl right?) and pour it into the caramel. Careful, it bubbled a bit on me and I had to whisk like a mad woman to keep it from boiling over. 

5. Put it back on the heat and give it a stir for a few minutes. This will help mix it for the yumminess you deserve.

Rice and broccoli

1. I like brown rice, but we only had white. So oh well... Cook that up. While you're at it steam up some broccoli. If you need directions, use the instant stuff and read the box. I made the boyfriend do it, so I don't have anything clever to write here. 

So now you get to build your own Chinese dinner!

I personally go rice, chicken and broccoli, cover in sauce. But it's your dinner, go for whatever you want. I won't judge. Much. 

Someday I promise I will get pictures. Someday.....