Beef & Broccoli

One of my husband's favorite things in the whole wide world is Chinese food. He would eat it every single day if I let him. But, since I like to cook a variety of foods, I won't let him. But, being the wonderful wife that I am, I do try to make him homemade Chinese food whenever I can, just to keep him happy... because when he's happy, he's more likely to do the dishes. Or vacuum the house. Or let me choose what movie to watch that night. But, of course, I mostly do it out of love. Yeah, love... that's it.

Luckily, though, I actually really enjoy making Chinese food and it just so happens that one of my all-time favorite dishes is Beef & Broccoli! Yum. It also happens to be the first Chinese dish I ever made at home, so it holds a special place in my little heart. Plus, my 6-year-old actually likes it, which makes it that much better! She likes to talk about how she's eating little trees and how it makes her nice and healthy. That definitely works for me! Anything to get her to happily eat her veggies. Now, for the good stuff...

Beef & Broccoli Recipe - {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
1 pound beef sirloin (sliced very thinly)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
1 cube beef bouillon
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 pound broccoli florets
4 cups cooked white rice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt
Pepper


Instructions:
Season beef with salt and pepper. In a skillet over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil and brown and cook beef for 4-5 minutes, or until it has reached desired doneness. Remove from skillet and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add another tablespoon of oil. Add broccoli to pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until slightly tender. Return beef to skillet.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water, add pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and beef bouillon. Add sauce to skillet and cook until it becomes thick and bubbly (about 3-4 minutes). If the sauce seems too thick, you can add a few tablespoons of water to thin it slightly. I also add a fair amount of pepper at this point because my husband adores pepper.

Serve beef & broccoli over white rice.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Hello all of you lovely people! I have missed you all so much. I have missed blogging and cooking and everything! As you may have seen on Facebook, I found out in September that I am expecting and due in May! *yay!* Unfortunately, along with that wonderful news came the most horrible food aversions known to man. Until recently, the thought of most food has been completely stomach-turning. I have been living on boneless, skinless chicken breasts because that's been the only meat I can bare to touch. Luckily, once I hit the second trimester, a lot of my sickness magically disappeared! It's funny how that happens. On top of the sickness, my camera decided to go into hiding for over a month. It's funny, because you don't realize how many amazing picture opportunities there are until your camera is nowhere to be found. Luckily, she was hiding in a box of party decorations in my office!

Now, on to the recipe! The other day I found a recipe for sweet and sour chicken over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I ended up tweaking it just a little bit, and the outcome was amazing! The sauce is magical, the texture is divine and when served alongside a pile of delicious fried rice, it is simply out-of-this-world! And yes... it is better than takeout! ;)

Sweet & Sour Chicken Recipe {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
3 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1.5" pieces)
1.5 cups cornstarch
4 eggs (beaten)
Salt & pepper
36 ounces vegetable or canola oil

Sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cold water

Heat oil to 375 degrees. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Roll chicken pieces in cornstarch, dip into egg and place into oil. Fry for 5-7 minutes, or until juices run clear. Place on paper towels to drain.

Place sauce ingredients (except water and cornstarch) in medium saucepan. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water and pour into saucepan. Over medium heat, cook sauce until it begins to bubble and thicken (about 4-5 minutes).

Pour sauce over cooked chicken pieces and mix well! Make sure each piece has plenty of sauce!

Serve with fried rice.


 

Orange Chicken

 Chinese food is one of those things that I have always thought would take too many ingredients and preparation to ever make at home. How sorely mistaken I was. My wonderful husband bought me a deep fryer for Christmas this year, and in order to repay him, I decided to make him some homemade Orange Chicken! My husband is a huge fan of Chinese food and he was eternally grateful to me for surprising him with this delicious homemade dish. This is pretty much one of the tastiest things I have ever made and I have already made it for my husband's side of the family just to show off how utterly delicious it truly is. Make this Orange Chicken and I can guarantee you that you will feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction spend the entire day strutting proudly around your house.

Orange Chicken:   

{Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless & skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1.5" cubes)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Sauce:

• 1-1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or you can use the little squeeze bottle!)
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic (minced)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• Chopped green onions (to garnish)
• Oil (for frying)

Instructions:

Heat deep fryer to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a medium bowl (for coating). Dip chicken pieces in beaten egg and toss in flour mixture to coat. Place chicken in deep fryer and fry until pieces are lightly browned and chicken is cooked through.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, orange zest and ginger. Bring to a boil. In a separate bowl (small) combine cornstarch and cold water. Add to sauce mixture. Cook sauce for 4-5 minutes or until sauce is nice and thick.

Pour sauce over chicken pieces and mix well. Garnish with green onion.



Today's creative blog

Teriyaki Chicken & Fried Rice

The first time I made this meal something changed inside me. I knew immediately that you truly could make the most delicious tasting food at home and that it wasn't very hard. This is one of those meals that I know my daughter will remember when she's all grown up and has a family of her own. It's just that good. When you make this and serve it to your family try not to be surprised when they eat every last piece of chicken and tell you how much they love you and that you're the best wife and mother on the planet. If this sounds good to you then I suggest you give it a try!

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe:   {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

10-12 chicken thighs (There are a couple of different combinations you can do here - it just depends on your preference: boneless/skinless, bone-in/skin on, boneless/skin-on, bone-in/skinless. I personally have tried them all and I prefer to use bonless/skin-on)

Instructions:
First you'll need to put your chicken in a big pan. I use a large lasagna pan.

Next, combine the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and set it aside. Place all of your ingredients for the sauce into a medium saucepan, along with the cornstarch/water mixture. Cook on medium-high heat for about 5-6 minutes (or until it just starts to thicken and bubble). Let the sauce cool down, then pour it over the chicken. Cover the chicken and place in the fridge until it's time to start cooking it (You can definitely skip this step! Most of the time, if i'm in a hurry, I don't refrigerate it).

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place your chicken in the oven for 50-60 minutes, flipping it over after 30 minutes. Oh, and I like to baste the sauce over the chicken every 20 minutes to keep it nice and juicy and saucy!




Chinese Fried Rice Recipe:   {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
4 cups of cold, cooked white rice (I usually cook my rice earlier in the day and put it in the fridge until it's time to use it!)
2 tablespoons of oil
2 eggs
2 cups of cooked peas/carrots (I use the frozen pea/carrot mixture)
3-4 stalks of green onion (sliced)
Approximately 1/2 cup soy sauce (more or less to taste)
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Instructions:
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Break 2 eggs into pan and scramble them around for 1 minute.

Once the eggs are cooked, add remaining tablespoon of oil, heat, and dump in the peas/carrots and rice. Mix it around with the spatula until there are no clumps of rice and allow it to cook while you stir it for 2-3 minutes.

Pour in sesame oil and soy sauce and continue to mix it until the rice is evenly colored and no white grains of rice remain.

Throw in the green onion and stir ir around for 1 minute and then you're done!