Ginger and Orange Chicken with Broccoli

I’ve been having fun looking for Chinese take-out dishes and re-making them at home. I have found that the chicken is tender, moist, and juicy as opposed to some take-out where the chicken might as well be cardboard. All the ingredients are fresh, with no added preservatives and they are fairly easy to re-make at home. This particular recipe is something that I’m sure you could find on a menu, but what really caught my eye was the words “ginger and orange” chicken. All the ingredients work well together and are quite good for you too. The recipe calls for cutting the chicken into thin strips. I took some chicken out of the freezer and let it sit out for a couple of hours (until it was semi-frozen). I used my mandolin slicer to cut thin strips of chicken and it worked out great. If you want some added texture, I’m quite certain cashews would add an extra crunch that would also work really well in the dish.

Ginger and Orange Chicken with Broccoli

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4 (6 oz) skinned and boned chicken breast halves, cut into strips

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 pound broccoli, cut into florets

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Vegetable cooking spray

1/2 small sweet onion, diced

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup orange marmalade

2 large oranges, peeled, sectioned, and coarsely chopped

Place chicken and soy sauce in a shallow dish or heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Cover or seal and chill for 15 minutes.

Cook broccoli in boiling water 3 minutes; drain. Plunge into ice water to stop the  cooking process; drain. Set aside.

Drain chicken, reserving soy sauce; dredge chicken slices in cornstarch.

Brown chicken, in batches, in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 1 minute on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet, reserving the drippings in skillet; keep chicken warm.

Add reserved soy sauce, onion, ginger, orange rind, red pepper, sesame oil, and garlic to reserved drippings in skillet, sauté 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add chicken broth and marmalade stirring until marmalade is melted. Return chicken to skillet. Bring to a boil; stir in broccoli and orange sections and serve immediately.

Source: MyRecipes.com

One Year Ago Today: Shrimp Burgers

Pasta Toss

In order to make this dish, you should be able to answer the following questions:

What is your favorite salad dressing?

What are your favorite vegetables?

What is your favorite kind of pasta noodle?

This is an ode to my old employer and my favorite meal from their cafeteria. This dish is a perfect weeknight meal to make when you have leftover vegetables and don’t know what to use them for or just what to make something simply to eat and enjoy . Using staple pantry ingredients such as  pasta and salad dressing you can make pasta toss in a snap. I like to make this dish to order, letting each person choose their vegetables and dressing. My personal favorite combination is broccoli, carrots, grilled chicken, pepperoni, penne pasta, and cheddar cheese tossed with honey mustard dressing. Serve with warm croissants and it will make everyone happy!

Pasta Toss

Vegetables of choice: carrots, broccoli, peppers, artichokes, etc.

Protein: grilled chicken, pepperoni

Cooked pasta of choice

Dressing: Italian, Honey Mustard, Ranch, etc.

Other toppings: cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese

Using separate bowls for each salad dressing, combine pasta, vegetables of choice, chicken, pepperoni, and toss with desired dressing. Transfer to bowls for serving.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

During my college days, Panera Bread was an establishment I frequented often. Between their cinnamon crunch bagels and homemade soups in a bread bowl I was a happy school girl. Their broccoli-cheddar soup was one of my favorites so when I got my Food Network magazine last month I was floored to see their version of this soup. I have to admit I haven’t had their soup in a while so it was tough to make a comparison, but the soup was still really good. The only thing that threw me off was the tiny bit of nutmeg thrown in. It was probably just because I knew it was in the soup so the flavor was more apparent, but I don’t know that I would add it in next time. I highly recommend serving the soup in a bread bowl, it makes the experience so much better!!

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

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6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cups half-and-half

3 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 7-inch sourdough bread boules (round loaves)

4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)

1 large carrot, diced

2 1/2 cups (about 8 oz) grated sharp white and yellow cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook , uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the bread bowls. Using a sharp knife, cut a circle into the top of each loaf, leaving a 1 inch border all around. Remove the bread top, then hollow out the middle with a fork or your fingers, leaving a thick bread shell.

Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth; you’ll still have flecks of carrot and broccoli. Return to the pot.

Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Add up to 3/4 cup water if the soup is too thick. Ladle into the bread bowls and garnish with cheese.

Source: The Food Network magazine, January/February 2010