Recipe Review: Copycat Panda Express Orange Chicken

Panda Express, to me, is the epitome of food court food.  And there's something so comforting about their food, which is full of sugar, cornstarch, fat, MSG, and who knows what else.  But honestly, I don't care what they put in their food, because it hits the spot when I want that cheap, over processed Chinese food that Panda Express more than willinginly provides for me.

But I came across a recipe that caught my eye.  Orange chicken.  Love.  Panda Express.  Love.  A copycat recipe for Panda Express' Orange Chicken!  Love. 

I was a little hesitant to make this because the BF has a sensitivity to orange, but alas, he was a-ok after eating.  Maybe it's processed oranges that give him a hard time, who knows.

After devouring eating this meal, I came to the realization that this recipe is even better than Panda Express.  It took a little bit to make, what with the frying and all, but it was soooooo friggin good.  I used orange juice straight from the oranges and was able to control the amount of heat, which I'm sure was too spicy for the average person and not enough spicy for us.

Copycat Panda Express Orange Chicken

from Bubbly Nature Creations

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into irregular 1 inch cubes
1-2 c flour
2 eggs
oil for frying
For the sauce (which I doubled):
juice from an orange
some orange zest
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 rice wine vinegar
Sriracha, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp cornstarch

Heat your frying oil.  Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a bowl.  Put the flour in another bowl.  Dip the chicken into the egg and then coat with flour.  Then fry until cooked.  It helps to do this in batches because you don't want the chicken to touch while they're frying.  When done, put the chicken on a baking sheet and keep warm in a 200 degree oven.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small pot.  Make sure the cornstarch is completely dissolved.  Heat on medium heat until the sauce thickens.

Place the warm chicken in a large bowl and pour the sauce on top.  Mix until it's all coated and serve with rice.  Noms.

*The chicken doesn't have to be fried.  It can be stir-fried.  The chicken won't be crunchy, but it'll taste the same.

Recipe Review: Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

So I actually made this last weekend...or was it two weekends ago?  It doesn't matter.  The moral of the story is...it was good.

Overall, it turned out saltier than we would've liked, but the flavor was fantastic.  I seasoned the chicken with salt and I might have just done too much.  It's so good, I'm willing to try it again.  And it's another easy peasy recipe.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
from Six Sisters' Stuff

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (I just used a pound of breasts)
1-1/4 c honey
1/4-1/2 c soy sauce (I'm gonna see if using less will reduce the salt taste next time)
1/2 c diced onion
1/4 c ketchup
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
crushed red pepper to taste (I used alot)
4 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 6 tbsp of water (this'll help thicken the sauce)
sesame seeds

Directions:
Put the chicken in the crockpot.  In a bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper, if using.  Pour the liquid over the chicken in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours.  Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon.  Pour the cornstarch and water mix into the crockpot and stir.  Put the lid back on and cook the sauce on high for about 10-15 minutes or until the sauce is slightly thickened.  Cut the chicken into bite size pieces or shred, then return to the crockpot and toss with the thickened sauce before serving.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Recipe Review: Huli Huli Chicken

Hawaii.  Sigh.

The BF and I took a vacation to Maui back in 2009.  Our mind has been there since.  Besides being in complete paradise, the best part of the vacation was the Hawaiian food.  Yum yum in my tum tum. 

Although I never had a chance to try Huli Huli Chicken in Hawaii, I was excited nonetheless to try to make it on my own.

I'm so happy I did.  First off, the ingredients are available and easy to find and second, a majority of the work is done in the crockpot.  Easy peasy.

I ended up using two pounds each of party wings and drumsticks.

Fall off the bone tender these were.  And they weren't even as messy as you think they'd be.

Ok.  Well, I guess I should take away the "easy peasy" comment from earlier.  The beginning and end of the recipe is a little involved.  But it's worth it!

You can follow the recipe exactly, or you can eyeball it, which is what I did.  I used less ketchup, and more brown sugar.


Huli Huli Chicken
from America's Test Kitchen

2/3 c pineapple juice
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c ketchup
1/4 c soy sauce
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp grated ginger
salt and pepper
cooking spray
4 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces

Simmer pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger in saucepan until thickened and measures about 1 1/2 cups.  It took a little over 10 minutes for me.  Season with salt and pepper.

Coat the slow cooker with cooking spray.  Transfer about 1/2 - 2/3 cups of the sauce to the slow cooker.  Put aside the rest of the sauce, you'll need it later!  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the slow cooker and coat the chicken with evenly with the sauce in the crockpot. Cover and cook the chicken for 4-6 hours on low.

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place a wire rack in an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.  Transfer the chicken to the baking sheet.  Discard the braising liquid in the crockpot (hope you didn't use much!).

Brush the chicken with the sauce you put to the side and bake, brushing every couple of minutes with more sauce, until the chicken has a nice mahagony lacquer.  I baked mine for about 30 minutes.

Serve and make your tummy happy!

Recipe Review: Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread

So the title doesn't make this appealing at all.  I found the recipe at Emmalinaviolet.  And apparently Garbage Bread is a New York thing that's basically a layered calzone.  Buffalo chicken and pizza dough sounded like a fantastic pair, so I had to try it.  This non-New Yorker ended up loving this stuff.

Buffalo Chicken Garlic Bread

from Emmalinaviolet

chicken breasts, about 2

olive oil

pizza dough (I used Pillsbury canned pizza dough)

shredded mozzarella and cheddar

1/2 c wing sauce

1/3 c ranch or blue cheese dressing (I used a mixture of both)

Cut the chicken into cubes and season with salt and pepper.  Heat some olive oil in a pan and cook the chicken thoroughly.  Stir in half (1/4 c) of the wing sauce into the pan and coat the chicken.  Let it simmer for a minute or two.  Take the pan off the heat and let the chicken cool.  (I found this cooling off step to be pretty important.  I was too impatient and didn't let the chicken cool enough, and when I started to prepare the bread, it was ripping up my dough.)

Preheat the oven to 425.

Spread out the pizza dough onto a well floured surface.  Mix together the dressing(s) and remaining wing sauce.  Spread it across the dough.  Add the chicken and top with the cheese. 

Rough the dough like a pinwheel until you reach the end.  Tuck in the edges so nothing seeps out when baking.

Place the garbage bread on a baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes (I actually baked it for the amount of time recommended on the dough instructions).  Let it sit for about 5 minutes.  Cut it up and enjoy!

Recipe Review: Honey Lime Chicken Skewers

Kabobs is such a fun word.  Ka-bob.  Ha.  The weirdest things amuse me.

This was my first attempt at kabobs (giggle).  I'm a little clumsy, so I got nervous thinking about skewering meat onto a sharp stick.  Meat.  Sharps.  Stab finger.  Gets uncooked meat juice into stab wound.  Gets salmonella.  Goes to hospital.  That scenario was always in the back of my mind when thinking of making kabobs.  But I saw this recipe on Kitchen Meets Girl, I couldn't resist.  I bought the first pack of bamboo skewers I saw. 

I love grilled onions, so in between the chicken pieces, I added 2 slices of onion.  I also didn't have fresh cilantro, so I just used the freeze dried version.  Serve this with rice and you're golden.  How I ate it:  pulled the meat and onions of the stick with a fork and mixed it all with the rice.  How he ate it:  right off the stick...like a savage.  Gotta love him :)

And remember, if you use bamboo skewers, soak them in water for about 5 minutes.  Surprisingly, I didn't find this out the hard way, but I heard not pre-treating the sticks will cause them to burn...like wood.

Honey Lime Chicken Skewers

from Kitchen Meets Girl

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp vegetable oil

juice of one lime

2 minced garlic cloves

Siracha, to taste 

red pepper flakes, to taste

2 tbsp cilantro

1 lb skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

In a small bowl, combine your ingredients, through the cilantro. Mix thoroughly.

Pour marinade over chicken breasts and turn to coat. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour.

Grill on medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear.  Serve!

 

Cheesy Chicken Empanadas

Continuing onto the Mexican finger food fix I've been in lately, I made these awesome empanadas, courtesy of Kraft Foods. 

It was a little involved so I didn't think of taking "during" pictures.

I happened to have shredded chicken from a rotesserie chicken, so this recipe worked out for me.  The sweet from the pie dough made a nice match with the savory chicken and cheese and spicy chili powder.

Cheesy Chicken Empanadas
from Kraft Recipes

2 c shredded cooked chicken
1 c shredded cheese
1/3 c chipotle flavored mayonaisse
2 tbsp fresh cilantro
1 egg
1 tbsp water
1 pkg of ready-to-use refridgerated pie crusts (get a pkg with 2 crusts)
1 tsp chili powder (I actually used more)

Heat the oven to 375F.

Combine the chicken, cheese, mayonaisse and cilantro.  Then whisk the egg and water together.

Unroll the pir crusts on a lightly floured surface.  Flatten each crust to about 12 inches using a rolling pin.  With a biscuit cutter (I actually used a jar lid), cut out about 4 inch circles in the dough.  You'll have to reflatten the dough at some point.  Place the circles on a lined baking sheet.  Spoon some of the chicken mixture into the center of each circle.  Brush the edge of the circle with the egg wash.  Fold the filled circles in half, pressing them slightly to release any excess air and seal the edges with a fork.  Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle them with chili powder.

Bake for 15 minutes or until they're golden brown.

And this is the Kraft version.  Looks much better.

Stay classy,
Heidi 

Hippie Maybe?

Sometimes I wonder if I was a hippie in a past life.  In high school, my big research paper was about the culture of hippies, which I totally aced by the way (and was one of the few with the English teacher we had).  And I'm loving that floral vintage is coming back.  I gave in and bought a wallet from Target when I have a perfectly fine wallet right now.  But that wallet was black and boring.  The one I bought today was distressed leather with flowers all over it.  I fell in love. 

Today, I'm gonna attempt to make these cupcakes for Easter.  Fingers crossed!

And last night, I made these flatbreads that were delish (recipe follows)!! 

Since I'm an android gal (I actually love android by the way!) Instagram was made available and you bet I got my hands on that app.  How much cooler does the flatbread look!?

I've also been eating a pretty nutritious for the past couple of days.  Health nuts would praise me.  Vanilla yogurt, granola, fresh berries.  Nom, nom, nom.

Because I wanted a cool picture, I actually made too much, so this lasted 2 mornings.  I got a store brand granola mix with almonds and honey and it added this great sweetness to it.  Even with the soggy granola the next day, it was still awesome.

Thai-Style Chicken Flatbread/or Naan (this recipe makes for 2 flatbreads, so double it for 4)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cut about 1/2 lb of chicken, cut into bite size pieces.  Marinate the chicken with 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp honey, and 1/2 tsp cornstarch at room temperature for 10 minutes (The honey is important!  It helps to carmelize the chicken).  Heat a pan over high heat and add the chicken and cook for a couple minutes.  Brush olive oil on the edges of the flatbreads.  Spread peanut sauce on each flatbread.  Top with shredded mozzarella and the cooked chicken.  Bake for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts and the edges are golden.  Top the breads with bean sprouts (the sprouts actually add this great crunch to every bite) and cilantro. 

Stay classy,
Heidi

A "Man" Breakfast and Some Mexican For Ya...

I'm so glad it's spring, although the weather lately has been more summerish (we're talking like 80 degrees!)  It's been nice though.  I love my short sleeve tops!  But with spring comes rain, which it has been doing since yesterday.  Not too thrilled with that.  Rain makes me feel kinda blah and I don't want to do anything productive.

Yesterday morning, I made what I called a "man" breakfast.  I had eggs and leftover chili, so what do I do?  Make omelets covered with chili!  It was...different.  It took a couple of bites to get used to, but it was good.  Towards the end, I was starting to get a little sick from all the protein, but like I said, it was still good!

Over the week, I also made an awesome dinner, courtesy of Pinch of Yum's Chicken Tamale Pie recipe (recipe follows).  O.M.G. it was good, and so incredibly easy.  I bought a rotisserie chicken and shredded that for the pie.  The sweet from the corn and the savory from the meat and sauce just went so well together.

I'm going to use the picture from the website since I was too excited to eat this to take a picture.  And hers looked way better than mine anyway.

How amazing does this look!!??

I came home the other day, and saw this.

One of the animals, not sure which one, sure does love sleeping under the covers while we're gone. As you can see there's a perfect little animal tent going on there...

Chicken Tamale Pie from Pinch of Yum
Serves: 8 
Total Time:  45 minutes

Ingredients

1/3 cup fat free milk

1/4 cup egg substitute

1 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 (14 3/4 ounce) can cream-style corn

1 (8.5 ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained

1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

3/4 cup shredded white cheese

cilantro and crumbled Cotija cheese for topping

Instructions

-Preheat oven to 400°.

-Combine the first 7 ingredients (milk through green chiles), using just 1/2 tablespoon of the taco seasoning, in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a round pie plate coated with cooking spray.

-Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. While corn is baking, toss the chicken in the remaining 1 tablespoon taco seasoning. When corn is done, pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken and sprinkle with cheese.

-Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into pieces and top each serving with cilantro and Cotija cheese.

Stay classy my friends,
Heidi

Stereotypes Are Bad, But I Really Do Belong In the Kitchen

So the past couple of years, I've learned to love cooking.  While living at home, I hardly ever cooked.  I had no reason to.  Mom always had something lying around.  Usually, I just had to nuke it up in the microwave.  And once I started driving, I'd just go out to eat. 

When the BF and I moved out here, he did almost all of the cooking.  I was already working at my new job, so he had the time to whip up something for dinner.  And now, almost 4 years later, I've taken over the kitchen and now cook 4-5 nights a week, with each dinner usually being a brand new recipe.  I love being in the kitchen!  I love trying new stuff and I love tasting how different ingredients go together.  I can count on one hand how many times the BF has been in the kitchen in the past 3 years, and I'm completely okay with that.  Now, I'll be honest and admit that there have been many disasters that I refuse to bring up in detail, but they were lessons learned.  My recipe book is forever growing and it's getting hard to make repeat dishes when there are so many new things I want to try.

I plan out the menu a week ahead (usually on Fridays or Saturdays).  With planning the menu out for the week, I know exactly what I need grocery wise and the BF knows what's for dinner and the "open" nights where I don't plan on cooking.  Making a menu and couponing (which will be another blog post one day) helps save so much money.  As a side note, I consider myself obsessive compulsive and I usually have to have a "system" for stuff and my menu making is one of those systems.  If I didn't do it the way I do now, I'd have so much anxiety. 

So anyway, this week, I'm gonna share two things I made that ended up worth noting.

Earlier in the week, I made a bbq chicken pizza.  The flavor was awesome, the BF and I just weren't fans of the crust, which was store bought (Wegman's, which I usually love all of their food, so I'm wondering if I just baked it for too long).  Next time, I'll try a crust I know we've liked before or even make it myself.

So the recipe I kind of put together.  It had elements that I saw for a couple of different pizza recipes.  I cut the chicken into pieces.  I cooked the chicken in oil in a pan, added bbq sauce to the chicken while it was cooking.  I sauteed some chopped onions and minced garlic, and also added a little a bbq sauce to that.  I brushed olive oil and sprinkled grated Parmesan over the crust.  I then spread some bbq sauce over the crust.  I added the chicken, a little cheese, the onions, a little more cheese, jalapenos, and a little more cheese, oh and crushed red pepper.  And I popped it in the oven for a great tasting pie. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

And yes, that it a cardboard tray it was served on.  I didn't want to dirty up another dish, so I used the tray the crust came with.  Resourceful is what I think it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And tonight, I made a repeat of something I made a long, long time ago (there's so much in my approved recipes book, that it's rare for me to repeat one).  I actually think the original was a recipe from Kraft.  I tweaked it tonight.  Cook up a box of rotini or whatever pasta you have.  Cut up some chicken and cook it in a pan with oil.  Add chopped bell peppers and onions, add about a 1/4-1/2 cup of zesty Italian dressing and a tablespoon of chili powder (or less if you don't like spicy).  Add about 1/2 to 1 cup of salsa and 1/2 c of sour cream.  Add some corn for a slightly crunchy texture.  Stir in the drained pasta and stir.  Then add shredded cheese.  Mix.  And because the BF and I love spicy (what we consider normal is raging hot for almost everyone else), I added crushed red pepper, spicy taco seasoning and some chipotle powder for a smoky flavor.

Fiesta Chicken Pasta

And I still get stuck with the dishes about 50% of the time.  What happened to whoever cooks is exempt from cleaning?

Stay classy my friends,
Heidi