Spicy Basil Chicken

Here's another quick and easy recipe for a weeknight. There's not a lot of ingredients, but it packs a ton of flavor with the ingredients it does have. The dish utilizes ingredients that I always have on hand, minus the fresh basil. You will need to add that to your grocery list :)

This is one of the very first dishes I learned how to make when I was teaching myself how to cook. I've been making it for years, and it appears in our rotation regularly. The hubby was surprised last night to hear that I hadn't blogged about it yet. Well, Spicy Basil Chicken's time has come.

First thing's first. The chicken must be cut into bite size chunks and tossed with a bit of flour, salt and pepper. It adds a little crust when browning your chicken. You can do this in a bowl with your hands, but as I've mentioned before, I find using a Ziploc bag works the best.

Mmmm, fresh basil. Thinly sliced.

Minced garlic. I don't make a lot of dishes without garlic, which I'm sure you are discovering :)

The sauce mixture is super simple. Fish sauce, homemade chicken broth, and cornstarch. When I make homemade broth, I like to freeze some in 1 cup portions for recipes that only call for a little bit of chicken broth.

Whisk the fish sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch together. You will end up with something that looks like this.

Saute the garlic in olive oil with a pinch of crushed red pepper (there's the heat in Spicy Basil Chicken).

Brown the chicken in the garlic-oil mixture. This is a fast dish, so cook the chicken until it is done. With little chunks, it shouldn't take more than 3-4 minutes.

Add in the broth mixture, cook 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce has started to thicken up. Turn off the heat and add the basil. Toss to combine the basil with the chicken mixture. You're ready to plate up! I like to serve this over hot cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds. I can usually have this on the table in 30 minutes, it's definitely a quick one!

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp corn starch
1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
hot cooked rice
sesame seeds (garnish)

Directions:
1. Combine chicken with flour, salt, and pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Seal and shake to coat chicken. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When heated, add garlic and crushed red pepper to pan. Saute 30 seconds-1 minute. Add chicken to pan, saute 3-4 minutes, or until chicken is browned and cooked through the middle.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, fish sauce, and cornstarch. Add broth mixture to pan, cook 2-3 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken.
4. Remove from heat. Add basil to pan, and toss to combine. Serve over hot cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds (if desired).

Adapted from Sunset

Shrimp Fried Rice

While perusing Cooking Light's website last week, I discovered that I've never made fried rice. I guess discover is not the right word, it just never occurred to me that I'd never made it. Fried rice is so good, I don't know why I've never tried making it before. Never the matter, it was time to try my hand at fried rice.

I used brown rice as my rice, which made me feel super-healthy. This is a Cooking Light recipe, so it is a lot less un-healthy than what you get in a restaurant. The hubby and I enjoyed this dish, but I'm definitely going to try making it with regular rice next time. I think I'm also going to experiment next time by putting some broccoli and bean sprouts into it.

I started with plenty of brown rice, chilled (Helps keep the rice from clumping up).

Eggs (scrambled into the dish), peas, and sliced green onion

Well, it wouldn't be Shrimp Fried rice without shrimp, right?

Fixins' for the simple sauce. Looks like I need to buy some more rice wine! I cut the salt by half for the recipe, as I figured there was enough sodium in the soy sauce. I also added some crushed red pepper for a kick.

Prepping the sauce.

And all these wonderful ingredients turn into a delicious main dish. Oh, how I wish there was a Chinese restaurant around here. I'm having serious withdrawals :)

Ingredients:
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp peanut oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cut green onion, sliced
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups long grain rice, chilled

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together rice wine through crushed red pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat peanut oil in a large pan. Add eggs to pan, and stir fry until soft- scrambled. Add peas to the pan and stir fry until peas are warm. Add the green onion and shrimp to the pan, cook until the shrimp are pink (2-3 minutes).
3. Add rice to the pan and stir fry for 3 minutes, or until heated through.
4. Add rice wine mixture to the pan, and toss gently to coat.
5. Serve immediately!

Adapted from Cooking Light

Chicken and Broccoli Lo Mein

Another busy weekend out here in Kentucky!

The hubby only had a 2 day weekend (so rare these days!) so we had to make the most of it. Saturday, we had to run out to Sam's (our version of Costco) and the grocery store to get ingredients for the Red Velvet Cupcakes. Once I got home, the cupcakes took quite a while to make, thanks to all the parts of the recipe that have to cool. We had a linner on Saturday, so I didn't even cook dinner that night. Yesterday, we had to get up early and do the grocery shopping since we were heading out to the hubby's sister house in the afternoon to celebrate his mother's birthday. Only a couple of hours were spent at his sister's, because the hubby had to book it to our property and map out the septic system since we have our first inspection on Friday. He dropped me off at home first so I could pick up the house, and finally cook a dinner. Whew!

So, another Asian dish. I've been craving Chinese lately, probably due to the fact that there are no Chinese restaurants in Ashland. I take that back, there are a couple of Chinese restaurants, but they look like roaches run the place. So gross. No biggie, I can do stir-fry all by myself!

Stir-fry requires prep. Sliced onions, broccoli, and minced garlic

Another quick sauce! Brown shugga', fish sauce, soy sauce, and chile past with garlic. Fish sauce is one of the most foul smelling things out there, but for some reason (I can't even explain it!) the flavor mellows when cooked.

Whisk all together.

Brown your chicken. It doesn't need to be cooked all the way at this point, but it does need some lovely color on. As Anne Burrell would say, "Brown food tastes better!".

Saute your onions. Hopefully you don't need to cook the snot out of them, as I do.

Add in broccoli and garlic.

Add the chicken back in and cook it until it's done. Then throw in the cooked noodles and sauce and cook until heated through. Serve immediately, chopsticks optional :)

Ingredients:
8 oz cooked spaghetti (or chow mein noodles)
3 cups broccoli, chopped
1 tsp sesame oil

6 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp chile paste with garlic
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 large chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Sesame seeds (garnish)

Directions:
1. Cook spaghetti to package directions. Place broccoli in a steamer basket and steam over  pasta while it cooks, 4 minutes. Remove broccoli from heat and set aside. When pasta is cooked, drain and then toss with sesame oil. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce through chile paste. Set aside.
3. Heat peanut oil in a large pan. When hot, add chicken. Sear 2 minutes on each side or until brown. Remove from heat. Set aside.
4. Add onions to pan. Cook 3-5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and broccoli to pan. Saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken to pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add pasta and sauce to pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
5. Serve immediately. Garnish with sesame seeds, if desired.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Pork

Super easy dinner alert!

I first made this a couple of months ago and I have to admit, I was nervous to serve this to the hubby. I definitely wasn't sure if it was something he would like. I made it because I had ground pork and green beans in the freezer, and it sounded easy. So I took the plunge and served it up to him one night.

He completely shocked me when he told me he loved it!

Here's the breakdown:

There's only 4 ingredients in the sauce, but its got an amazing flavor for how little is in it. It's sweet, spicy, and salty, all at the same time.

Mix all the ingredients for your sauce, right into a dark loveliness.

A pound of ground pork. Ground beef, ground chicken, or even ground turkey would all work for this recipe as well. Take your pick!

Some minced garlic (as I've said before, we L-O-V-E garlic!) and a bag of frozen green beans. The hubby is especially fond of the french style green beans. And by all means, you can definitely use fresh green beans!

Brown your ground pork.

Add in the garlic and green beans.

And finally, add in your sauce. Stirfry's go so quick, I love them! Serve over hot cooked rice. Dinner is served :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 lb ground pork
salt and pepper
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 (12 oz) package of frozen green beans
hot cooked rice

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce through crushed red pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat peanut oil in a large pan. Add ground pork. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to crumble. Cook until browned
3. Add garlic and green beans. Cook 2-3 minutes or until beans are hot.
4. Add sauce to pan. Cook 2-3 minutes or until dish is heated through and sauce has thickened slightly.
5. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Linked to: Retro Re-Pin Party

Spicy Sweet and Sour Pork

Pork chops were on sale this week and instead of just grilling them up, I decided to use them in a yummy stir-fry!

I was back in commission yesterday after taking a couple of days off for the back injury. I know the hubby was relieved not to have another pizza or fast food night. I spent 2 days alternatively icing and heating my back and while it's not 100% yet, it feels immensely better.

So here we go!

Chop up your green pepper and dice that onion!

Pineapple. I used canned (I was wanting to use what I had in the pantry) but fresh pineapple is equally (and maybe a little more!) delicious. Save some juice to put in your sweet and sour sauce.

Here's what you're going to need for the sauce, plus a smidgen of chicken broth and the reserved pineapple juice.

Start by browning your pork. Does anyone else watch Anne Burrell on the Food Network? I always hear her voice at this point saying "Brown food tastes better!". I heart her :)

The pork doesn't need to be done at this point, it will finish cooking later.

After browning the pork, saute the onions to your liking. I have a husband who will not eat any onion with any kind of texture, so I have to cook my onions until they are practically mush.

Sometimes I dream about a nice crunchy onion. Sigh.

Add in the green pepper and the pineapple and saute a couple minutes more.

Add the pork back to the dish and then the sauce you have previously prepared. Cook for a couple of minutes more, until the pork is done. The sauce becomes wonderfully thick at this point and is perfect for spooning over rice.

Time to plate up! Spoon extra sauce over the rice, trust me.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp chile paste with garlic
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cornstarch, divided
1 lb pork, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 (8- oz) can of pineapple chunks
hot cooked rice
toasted sesame seeds (garnish, optional)

Directions:
1. Combine chicken broth through sesame oil. Add 1 tbsp cornstarch, stir vigorously with a whisk. Set aside.
2. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Toss pork with 1 tbsp cornstarch until pork is evenly coated.
3. Heat canola oil in a large skillet. Add pork to pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until pork is browned. Remove from pan, keep warm.
4. Add onions to pan, cook to desired tenderness. Add green pepper and pineapple, saute 2-3 minutes more. Add pork back to pan, mix well. Add chicken broth mixture to pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until pork is done.
5. Serve pork mixture over rice. Garnish with sesame seeds.

*Recipe inspired by Cooking Light*

Kung Pao Chicken

I love Asian cooking. I love the flavors they use, from fish sauce to hoisin to Sriracha. Back in Oregon, it wasn't hard to find excellent Chinese or kick ass sushi. Here in Kentucky, well, that is another story. The husband and I have to get our Chinese fix from our kitchen. One of our favorites is Cooking Light's Kung Pao Chicken. I must warn that if you are looking for an authentic Kung Pao Chicken as you would find in a Chinese restaurant, this is not what you are looking for. It is Cooking Light's version of Kung Pao Chicken. And for an Asian stir-fry, this is a good one. We serve it over steamed rice. Yum!


Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 1 tablespoon ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World), divided
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped salted peanuts

Preparation

• Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccoli and 2 teaspoons ginger to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add water. Cover; cook 2 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Remove broccoli from pan; keep warm.
• Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan; add remaining 1 teaspoon ginger, crushed red pepper, and chicken. Cook 4 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned, stirring frequently.
• Combine broth and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, and stir with a whisk. Add broth mixture to pan; cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Return broccoli mixture to pan; toss to coat. Sprinkle with peanuts.

The only alterations I made were to add 1 onion, sliced, and 1 red bell pepper, sliced. I actually steamed the broccoli for 3 minutes on it's own and then threw the broccoli in with the other vegetables after I had sautéed the onions and red pepper. My one note is that the dish is not that spicy if you add the crushed red pepper to the chicken. Next time I will add the red pepper to the sauce and allow the spiciness to incorporate with the sauce. As for the sauce, I recommend making extra if you are adding more vegetables to the dish.

The final result! We dusted our plates with toasted sesame seeds for garnish.