Kung Pao Chicken is mine and Clark's favorite dish. Ever. When we started dating he introduced me to it, and I haven't been able to get away from it. Since we're trying to continue our "eating better" goals, I was worried it was going to be impossible to make a version of this dish at home successfully.

I'm so happy that I was wrong.

This recipe is easy and, if I may say so, up to delivery-par (in our opinions, that is). If Clark approves of something like this, I feel like a total winner, which is the case with this recipe.


Ingredients:

- 1lb chicken breasts, cut into cubes or strips.
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 habenero pepper, sliced
Note: I used this because I couldn't find dried chilis ANYWHERE. If you can find them, slice up 1-2 dried red chilies for a more authentic taste.
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced.
- 3/4 tsp dried ginger
- 1 tbs rice cooking wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil (must)
- 2 scallions, cut into small rounds.
- 1/4 C roasted peanuts.

For the Marinade:

- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp rice wine
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbs egg white, beaten

For The Sauce:

- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 2 tbs sweet chili sauce
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 6 tbs water
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
Note: You can use 6 tbsp of chicken or vegetable broth instead of the water/bouillon combo; I just typically don't have broth in my house!

Directions:

- Prepare the Marinade. Whisk together the salt, soy sauce, rice wine,cornstarch and egg white. Place into sealed container or ziploc bag with cut up chicken and let sit for 30 minutes in the fridge.

- Next, make the Sauce. Mix together the soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, vinegar sugar, cornstarch, water, and bouillon. Set aside.

- Heat a Wok or large pan over high heat util smoke rises. Add the oil and swirl it around. Add the habenero pepper, garlic, and ginger. Push around until garlic is golden.

- Add your chicken.Turn and toss it for 1 - 2 minutes before next step.

- Add in the rice wine and sesame oil (from first list of ingredients), stirring continuously.

- Add the scallions and continue to stir for a minute or so; the chicken should be almost cooked by now.

- Add the Sauce to the Wok. Continue to stir while it thickens.

- Add the peanuts, stir the mix a few more times, then transfer to a warm serving plate.


I served mine with homemade fried rice. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Magazine

I love making meals in my crockpot. Let's face it: it is SO easy. I just stick it in there and (usually) don't have to worry about it.

Clark said this is his new favorite. I had to create a human shield to the food to make sure we had some leftovers as I planned. So, be warned.


Ingredients:

- 1 lb. stew meat (or boneless beef chuck roast sliced into thin strips)
- 1 C beef broth
- 1/2 C low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 C brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tbsp sauce (from the crockpot after dish is cooked)
Frozen broccoli florets (I used about 2 cups)
White, Jasmine, or Brown Rice, cooked (I used brown)

You can also make fried rice to go with it! Check out a recipe here.

Directions:

- In your crockpot, whisk together the beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. Gently place your beef on top of the liquid, then toss to coat.
- Turn the crockpot on low and cook for four to five hours, or high for two to three. This depends on your crockpot, so check on it near the end. Mine took about 2.5 hours.
- When it's done, in a small bowl, whisk together your cornstarch and 4 tbso if sauce to create a slurry. Pour into the crockpot and stir to mix well.
- Add your broccoli florets (after the slurry), and cook on low for another 30 minutes to thicken up the sauce and cook your broccoli.

Serve over rice. Prepare to be amazed.

This recipe was adapted from Table for Two Blog.

Want more oriental dishes? Check these recipes out!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

[Baked] Sweet & Sour Chicken

[Easy] Mongolian Beef

I like to keep it simple when Clark's on the road. Let's face it: who wants to spend hours cooking a complicated meal, and then eat it alone? Not this girl. Of course I eat with Michael, but 90% of the time he won't eat what's on the menu. I'm hoping this changes in years to come. It will... right?


This is easy, delicious, and I felt like I was spoiling myself, so a total win. Michael tried a bite and didn't exactly approve, but he's not a meat person right now.

Ingredients:

- 6 chicken thighs without the bones (about 1.5 pounds)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup soy sauce (preferably low salt)
- 3 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp grated ginger
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 1/4 tsps cornstarch
- 2 1/4 tsps water
cooked rice

Directions:

- Place chicken in crockpot.
- Mix sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper in a bowl.
- Pour sauce over chicken into the crockpot.
- Cook on low for 2-4 hours (chicken should be soft, easy to separate).
- Take out chicken and place on serving dish (place dish in your microwave to keep warm, or at least cover it).
- Degrease fat from sauce with a flat spoon.
- Place sauce in another pot on your stove and bring to a boil.
- Mix cornstarch and water into the sauce. Stir until combined and sauce is thick.
- Place chicken on top of rice and pour sauce over.

Serve and enjoy!

This recipe was molded from Day Dream Kitchen.

God Bless those who have and continue to serve our country as well as their families whose jobs are just as tough. Don't forget to thank those you know for their service!

Butternut Squash is one of my fall favorites. But let’s face it, who wants to always wait around for the season to enjoy it? Not this girl! I was so excited when I found it still available at my local grocery store.

When it comes to serving meatless meals, my ideas are usually vetoed by the hubs. It comes as such a relief when I can throw something together that we will all enjoy and it doesn’t have to contain meat. This stir fry is so filling! If it had much else in it I think we would have busted.

However, if you are a “my meal must have meat” type of person, adding just about anything to this works! See the asterisk for the details.


Ingredients:

- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 3 C butternut squash, cut into cubes
- 1 to 2 tbsp(s) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking rice wine

Directions:

- Heat your sesame oil, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1 minced garlic clove in a wok or large skillet over medium-low heat. Sauté until garlic is golden brown.

*If you wanted to add meat, here’s your chance! Toss it in there before you add your butternut squash and cook until golden/brown all around. It doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through just yet since you have a few more steps to go!*

- Add your butternut squash and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender.

- Add your green pepper, red pepper, onion, and the rest of your garlic and ginger. Sauté for another 5 to 10 minutes.

- Mix in your sauces (soy, teriyaki, and Chinese cooking rice wine). If you do not have rice wine, you can substitute cooking sherry or just use extra soy sauce. Let stand for at least another 5 to 10 minutes, mixing occasionally.

- Serve warm on its own or over rice.

Don't forget to VOTE FOR MICHAEL in the Parents Magazine Cover Photo Contest!

Before Clark had to head out to work again, his dinner request was homemade Mongolian Beef. It's one of his favorites to order for take-out, and since we're trying to cut back on doing that, we experimented. When all was said and done, Clark said it was the best Chinese dish we had made at home. Period. Apparently my Sweet & Sour Chicken has finally been surpassed.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb beef tenderloin [ I actually just used stir-fry beef for this because it's WAY cheaper. ]
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp grated/"powder" ginger
- 4 to 6 tbsp soy sauce [low sodium preferred]
- 2 to 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp Chine rice wine or dry sherry
- 3 to 6 green onions cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces [green part only]
- 2 to 4 tbsp oil for the pan [I used olive]

For Fried Rice Recipe go HERE*

- Directions:

- Mix together your soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine/sherry. Set aside.
- Heat oil in pan [I used a wok] over medium-high heat. Add your ginger and garlic. Sautee until garlic is browning.
- Toss your beef in cornstarch. Make sure to shake off any access cornstarch. Add your beef to the pan and saute until lightly browned.
- Add the sauce to the mix. It should boil pretty quickly. Lower the heat and keep stirring until the sauce begins to thicken and sort of glaze the meat. It should happen in a matter of minutes.
- Toss in your green onions a few minutes before serving. Turn the heat off after adding them.

Serve with fried or steamed rice.


Recipe adapted from chodivine.com.

I premiered this recipe on Post Graduation Studies, a high school friend's blog. Make sure to check it out!

This recipe is easy, tasty, and budget friendly. It's fit for a meal for anyone, ranging from the starving college student to the family of four!

Ingredients:

- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 lb thinly sliced chicken breasts
- 1 clove of garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder or salt)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 3oz package of chicken flavored ramen
- 1/4 C water
- 1lb package of Asian Medley frozen veggies


Directions:

- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger, then the chicken. Sautee until cooked through (no longer pink).
- Add the vegetables and cover the skillet. Cook for about five minutes, until the veggies are cooked through.
- While the vegetables are cooking, cook the ramen noodles as directed (without the flavoring). Drain the noodles.
- Add soy sauce and ramen seasoning to the chicken/veggie mix. Toss in the noodles.

*Note: If you get the seasoned veggies as I did, you probably don't want to add the ramen seasoning. It makes it REALLY salty, even with low sodium soy sauce!*

This recipe is delicious and easy! If you're feeding more than two people, I would double up on the ramen noodles.



Inspiration for this recipe came from: DisneyFamily.Com.

Clark and I sort of have an obsession with oriental food. Whenever one of us isn't feeling well, it's SO tempting just to order Chinese food and relax together. To help break that habit, I thought I needed to learn to actually make some of our favorites.

This was a bit time consuming, and didn't QUITE turn out as I had hoped (AKA it didn't look as pretty as I wanted it to), but Clark ate all of it. We had NO leftovers. So, I'd say it was a success.

Ingredients (for the chicken):

- 1 lb chicken, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
- salt and pepper
- 1 C cornstarch
- 2 eggs, beaten

For the sauce:
- 3/4 C sugar
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 1/2 C distilled white vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp garlic salt

Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 350.
- Dip your chicken into the cornstarch, then the egg, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

- Pour your sauce over the chicken.
-Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and put in the oven. Cook for an hour. Every 15 minutes, turn the chicken. Use your judgement if the chicken needs to cook a shorter or longer amount of time.

While your chicken is cooking...

Ingredients (Fried Rice):

- 1 packet of instant rice (I used brown, but you can use white if you wish. I probably should have made two packets, since Clark LOVES fried rice. So, if you need a lot- make sure to double up!)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 C frozen peas & carrots mix
- 1/2 small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 4 tbsp soy sauce

Directions:

- Heat the sesame oil in a skillet/wok to medium/ medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and veggie mix. Sautee until tender/ the frozen veggies are cooked.
- Lower your heat to medium-low/medium heat and push your veggies to one side of the pan. On the other side, add your egg and scramble/cook it. If some of your veggies get mixed in, it's really ok.


- Add the rice and soy sauce once the egg is cooked, and mix it all together. Cook until completely warmed/mixed together.



Serve your final products together and enjoy fabulous homemade comfort food!

This recipe came from the fabulous workings of: Life as a Lofthouse!

I was originally going to make these with ground turkey meat, but then thought I hadn't really ever used ground chicken. Note that you can probably use any sort of ground meat you choose!

These have a little bit of kick with the spice, and I must say I absolutely loved them. Excuse the pictures. I made these when we were having a friend over, so the pictures are actually from the leftovers-- not the freshly made recipe.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb ground meat (I used chicken, as mentioned before you could just about anything!)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/2 C Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 C Hoisin Sauce
- Juice from 1/2 of a (fresh) squeezed lime (about 2 tbsp, give or take)

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Mix together 2 tbsp soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, crushed red pepper, and sugar. Next add the corn starch and scallions.

- Fold in your turkey and breadcrumbs next.

- Roll the mix into meatballs and place on a prepared baking sheet. Lightly coat the balls with cooking spray and transfer to the oven.
- Bake until the meat is cooked through, about 15 to 18 minutes, depending on how thick you made your meatballs.

- While they're cooking, stir your Hoisin sauce, lime juice, and your remaining tbsp of soy sauce.

- Remove the meatballs from the oven and add them to your Hoisin sauce mix, gently stir to coat. Sprinkle with sliced scallions or sesame seeds if you like (not pictured).

I served them with brown rice, but I'm sure they would taste yummy with lo mein or something of the kind!

Another idea? Stick them with tooth picks and serve them as an appetizer or snack at a party!

Inspiration for this recipe comes from: Healthy Seasonal Recipes.

These are incredibly delicious and super easy. Clark has told me that this is his new (easy) way for me to prepare chicken. So, if you're a fan of spicy and a fan of coconut, these should be right up your ally!

Ingredients:

- 1 lb chicken tenderloins
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 C flour
- 1/2 - 1 C coconut flakes
- 1/2 - 1 C Panko bread crumbs
- 1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt (or regular salt)
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
*If you don't want them with a "super" kick, then cut down on the curry and don't add the cayenne!*
- olive oil
Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking oil.
- In one shallow bowl/dish, mix together the panko crumbs, coconut, and spices.
*Pictured is using 1 C of coconut and 1 C of bread crumbs, but I had A LOT left over, so I feel like 1/2 C may have been sufficient, in which case you may want to cut your spices down as well.*

- In another bowl, whisk your egg. In another, put your flour. Set up your "station".

- Dip a chicken tenderloin in the flour, then your egg, then roll it in your coconut mix. Place on your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with however many tenderloins you have/desire!

- Drizzle the top of the chicken tenders with olive oil if you want them a tad bit crispier.

- Bake for 12 to 20 minutes. I know, that's a rather big difference. My chicken tenders were small, so they were done I think around 13 minutes, but if yours are thicker/larger, they may need more time. They may even need 25 minutes! Just keep checking on them and you'll know when they're ready.

I was told these don't need any sort of sauce, but I think they'd go great with a sweet & sour sauce!

Inspiration for this recipe came from: Our Best Bites.

About two weeks ago my friend Serena flew into town. She lives in Michigan, and I've happened to know her for almost my entire life. No joke. We met in Kindergarten. Even with all my moving around throughout the years, we've managed to stay in touch and be ridiculously close friends.

Before she flew in, I gave her a few choices of recipes I wanted to try out, and she responded with what sounded the best. Unfortunately, while she was here, she actually had some stomach bacteria and really wasn't able to eat much.

But before we figured out what was actually wrong with her, she did manage to eat some of this... and I'm thankful. Because I must say, this was satisfying and positively delicious.

Did I mention it's Vegetarian friendly? Change the egg noodles to something else and I'm pretty sure it'd be vegan-friendly as well!


Ingredients:

Sauce
- 7 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp curry
- 2 tsp ginger
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp cornstarch

- 1 bag of egg noodles, precooked (however much you want)

Stir-Fry
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 1/2 C thinly sliced scallions (I sliced them into strips)
- 1 C shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 C shredded carrots
- 1.25 C shredded cabbage or mix (see picture)
- 8oz can of bean sprouts


Directions:

- Stir all sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened(about three minutes). Set aside.

- Use a wok or large skillet to cook the stir-fry. Set it over medium-high heat, and once it's hot add the two tsp of canola oil and swirl to coat.
- Add the bean sprouts, the mushrooms,

the cabbage,

the scallions,

and carrots. Saute for about three minutes, or until the veggies begin to soften.

- Add the cooked egg noodles and the sauce, tossing to combine.

- Cook for about one minute to let the sauce seep in, then serve.


Inspiration for this recipe came from: Can you stay for dinner?

Having company over can sometimes be stressful. I usually go with easy things to cook, like chili, enchiladas, tacos, spaghetti. Those all seem to be crowd pleasers that you can never go wrong with.

The last time, however, Clark insisted that we have something different.

So, I made this... and I must say... it went over incredibly well.

Ingredients:

- 2tbsp Sunflower oil
- 1 lb beef tenderloin, sliced (I got the prepared stuff from the grocery store)
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 zucchini, sliced diagonally
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 C beansprouts
- 8 oz can bamboo shoots, drained
- 1/2 C Cashews

Sauce:
- 4 tbsp cooking sherry
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp tomato paste


Directions:

- Heat the sunflower oil in a wok or large pan over medium heat.
*Make sure to prepare your onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and sauce ahead of time!*
- Add the beef and onion and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften and the meat begins to brown.
- Add your prepared bell pepper and zucchini. Stir-fry for another five minutes or so.




- Add the bean sprouts and bamboo shoots and let them cook for another 2 to 3, then sprinkle the cashews over the stir-fry.


- Last, but not least, add your sauce and let it bubble for 2 to 3 minutes to until it starts to thicken.




Serve immediately.


This dish goes great with brown rice!



This recipe was adapted from Simply Quick & Easy.