Fast Friday -- Orange Chicken & Rice

Recently, I picked up a copy of Taste of Home Cooking School magazine. There are tons of easy & quick recipes that I marked to try and last week we finally tried the Orange Chicken & Rice when the in-laws were in town.

This was a quick dish and tasted really good. We had Wonton Soup and mini egg rolls with this and it made a nice large meal -- only downside was that the AC wasn't working that evening and we were eating soup! But everyone enjoyed the meal.

Orange Chicken & Rice
Adapted from: Taste of Home Cooking School Spring 2011, page 48

1 cup rice, uncooked
1 jar (12 oz) orange marmalade
1 cup oj
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 large orange, washed & sliced thin
1 pkg sugar snap peas

Prepare rice according to package directions.
In a small saucepan, combine the marmalade and oj. Simmer until blended, reduce about 50% (should be like syrup). It it doesn't thicken, mix cornstarch & oj and add in until thickened.

In skillet, combine orange sauce, chicken, orange slices & peas. Heat until all ingredients are hot. Serve over rice.

**You can make the orange sauce ahead of time for a quicker week night meal**

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Sweet n Sour Chicken

I have been looking for a good Sweet n Sour Chicken recipe for awhile now and finally found one in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking that didn't have fried chicken in it or uses a bottled sauce. This recipe turned out really well and was pretty quick to put together and toss in the oven. Once it was in the oven it took 30 mins to cook and then we were eating. The sauce had a good flavor (not overly sweet like some sweet n sour sauces) and it was nice not having a fried piece of chicken smoothered in the sauce. The orignial recipe didn't call for pineapple, its juice or onion but I added it and really liked the pineapple in it (I don't like to eat bell pepper, so the onion & pineapple was something I would eat).



Sweet n Sour Chicken

adapted from: Taste of Home Heatlhy Cooking

Dec/Jan 2011



4 boneless chicken breasts
2/3 c water
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c cider vinegar
1/4 c reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 medium sweet red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 of a purple onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
8.25 oz can of chuck pineapple -- reserve juice
2 T cornstarch
3 T cold water
Hot cooked brown rice


Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken in baking dish.


In saucepan, bring water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce & pineapple juice to a boil, stirring constantly. Add peppers, onion & pineapple; return to a boil.

Combine cornstarch & water and mix until smooth; gradually stir into sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Pour over chicken.

Bake chicken, uncovered for 13-15 on each side.

Serve with brown rice.







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Crispy Baked Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce

I need to remember to take pictures of all of these recipes that we have been trying, but somehow I get so excited to dive in that I forget to take pictures. I found this recipe while I was looking for new cooking blogs to read. This is an easy dish and I was very impressed at how juicy the chicken was. We served with Asian Rice, Potstickers and Egg Drop Soup.


Crispy Baked Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce
www.annies-eats.com

Chicken:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 large eggs
1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 475˚ F. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In a second bowl, lightly beat the eggs together. Place the panko in a third shallow bowl or pie plate. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Lightly season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Work with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture to coat both sides. Shake lightly to remove any excess. Then dip into the eggs and shake gently to remove any excess. Finally place in the panko, turning to coat well. Transfer to the prepared wire rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Once all the chicken pieces are in place, spray lightly with cooking spray.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the bread crumbs are golden. Let rest a few minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with the teriyaki dipping sauce.


Sauce:
I used a bottle of Texas Teriyaki Sauce that I purchased in Fredericksburg. However, you can make your own. Here is the recipe that was listed on Annie's Eats.

3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tbsp. sake
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. mirin

Combine the soy sauce, orange juice, sake, sugar and mirin in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 6 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Chicken Lo Mein - Kraft Healthy Living

Chicken Lo Mein

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/healthy-living-ideas

1/2 lb. spaghetti, uncooked 1/4 cup
KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen bell pepper and onion strips, thawed, drained
1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. peanut butter
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts

COOK spaghetti in large saucepan as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and garlic; stir-fry 3 min. or until chicken is no longer pink. Add vegetables, broth and peanut butter; stir-fry 3 to 4 min. or until chicken is done.

DRAIN spaghetti; return to pan. Add chicken mixture and soy sauce; mix lightly. Spoon onto platter; top with cilantro and nuts.


Kraft Kitchens Tips
Variation: Prepare as directed, using multi-grain spaghetti and substituting 2 thinly sliced green onions for the cilantro.

Variation: Spicy Chicken Lo Mein: Add 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper to the hot dressing along with the chicken and garlic.

Variation: Pork Lo Mein: Substitute 1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into strips, for the chicken and reduced-sodium beef broth for the chicken broth.

Note: To make the lo mein easier to serve and eat, break the spaghetti in half before cooking


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Sesame Chicken

Sesame Chicken
4 Servings
WW Points: 4
170 calories
9.6g carbs
2.3g fat
0.0g fiber
27.0g protein
66mg cholesterol
317mg sodium
16mg calcium
1.1mg iron


2 teaspoons seasame seeds
4 - 4oz skinned, boned chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
nonstick cooking spray

1) Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add sesames seeds and cook; stirring constantly, 1-2 minutes or until seeds are toasted. Remove seeds, set aside.

2) Place chicken breast halves between two sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to 1/4 inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin.

3) Coat skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken, cook 3 minutes on each side or until chicken is lightly brown.

4) Combine toasted sesames seeds, honey, soy sauce and ginger. Pour over chicken, cook 1 additional minute, turning chicken to coat with sauce. Serve sauce over chicken.


Serve with rice and steamed broccoli or on a hoagie rolls with lettuce and tomatoes for a hearty sandwich.

Asian Grilled Chicken Rrecipe -- WW Friendly

Asian Grilled Chicken
From: Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
http://www.skinnytaste.com/
Servings: 6 servings
WW Points: 3.3

Marinade:
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice (I used lime)
2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Seeds
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2 Teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced (I used powder, about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
2 Green Onions, minced (I didn't have so I omited)
1/4 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce
1 Teaspoon honey
2 Teaspoon Sesame oil

6 thin boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 oz each)

Directions:
Combine all marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the chicken, turn the pieces to coat evenly, cover and place in refrigerator a minimum of three hours, but preferably overnight.
Preheat grill to high. Grill chicken for about 5 minutes and turn to cook other side for about 3 more minutes.

Wonton Soup - YUMMY!

This recipe is from the cookbook Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight (page 28). It was an easy recipe and really yummy.


Wonton Ingredients
1/4 pound ground chicken I used ground pork, couldn't find ground chicken
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger I used 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon Asian (dark) sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon salt I would leave this out next time
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
16 (3 inch) square wonton wrappers

Broth Ingredients
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon reduce sodium soy sauce
1/2 pound bok choy, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups) I omited, didn't have it and not sure if we like it
4 scallions cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1) To prepare wontons, combine chicken, scallions, ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch, seaseme oil, salt & pepper in a bowl, set aside.

2) Arrage 8 wonton wrappers on a work surface. Place 1 teaspoon of mixture in the center of each wrapper. Moisten the edgees of each wrapper with water and pull one of the top corners diagonnally over the filling to make a triangle. Press the edges firmly to seal. Bring left and right corners together above the filling. Overlap the tips of these corners, moisten with water and press together. Place completed wontons on a baking sheet lightly covered with cornstarch and cover with a damp paper towel. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers, making 16 wontons.

3) To prepare soup, bring the broth and soy sauce to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the wontons and bok choy; simmer, stirring occasionally, until the wontons are cooked through and the bok choy is tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the scallions and serve.

Nutrion information as it appears in cookbook:
per serving (1 cup soup with 4 wontons)
179 cal, 3g fat, 1g sat fat, 22 mg chol, 769 mg sod, 24g carb, 2g fib, 14g prot, 106mg calc
Points: 3





I really liked this soup and it was easy. The only thing was that there wasn't enough broth to the soup. I had the serving size suggested and so did E and there was lots of wontons left and not much broth at all. I will make this again but will double the broth portion. Making the wontons was fairly easy, I had a few ugly ones but they tasted just the same as the others. I didn't add the bok choy and that was okay, don't think I will ever add it. I prefer a simple wonton soup. It tasted and looked like what I order from our fave chinese delivery place.


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