Unusually You

I got my wedding planner book in the mail today, and I immediately started flipping through it. Which caused me to immediately go into panic mode. I closed it, took a deep breath, and then reminded myself that i have TWO YEARS to get through this. No need to stress now.

Last night I had a few friends over for dinner. I made a chinese themed meal, which included general tso's chicken, fried rice, and crab rangoon. Now, if we had gone to the local restaurant to get this meal, we would have easily spent $40 [for all four of us], but to make at home, it only cost me about $15. Just something to think about if you [& your family] like to eat out a lot. You can get the same quality at home for less than half of what you would spend to go out.

ON TO THE RECIPES!

General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 2 cups green onions, sliced
• 2 large chillis [mole chillis in the mexican food isle work GREAT!]
  

Cornstarch slurry

• 1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium preferred
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup cornstarch

Sauce

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sherry wine or white wine
• 14 1/2 ounces chicken broth (a can)

Directions

1. Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.

2. Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add chicken pieces to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to raise the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.

3. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.

4. In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. You can fry all the chicken, drain the oil to the desired amount and use the same pan if you like.

5. Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.

6. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add a little water. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.

7. Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until all is hot and bubbly. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.

8. Serve over rice.

Fried Rice

Ingredients

2 bags boil-in-bag white rice
2 eggs
1 can peas & carrots
1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic
1/4 tsp onion powder OR 1 medium yellow onion
4 tsp soy sauce [you can add more, just start out slow]
1 tbs olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions

1. Boil bags of rice for the time specified on package. Meanwhile, chop onion.

2. In a large skillet on medium heat, add the olive oil. Scramble eggs, add garlic and onion. Add some salt, but remember that the Soy sauce will add a lot of sodium, so don't over do it. Cook until eggs are done and onions are soft. Add the peas and carrots. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Cut bags and add rice to the mixture. Stir until everything is incorporated.

3. Add soy sauce & stir. Taste. If you think it needs more, add more. Just take it easy. You can always add more, but you can't take away. Allow to heat through for 2 minutes.

4. Serve & enjoy!



The recipe for Crab Rangoon is here.