Chinese Chicken with Veggies...and Fried Rice!

Homemade Chinese Chicken with Veggies!

Well yet another MONSTER Storm is headed our way.  I don't understand, I've been living here in Northern, New Jersey now for 20 years, and years back the storms were never called, "Monster, or Super", just plain old snow storms.  I am hoping this storm passes us.  I feel Spring in the air, and really would love some warmer temps. I actually saw a Red Robin today!  My Mom said it's a sign that Spring is near!  

I have been experimenting with Chinese recipes now for the past couple of weeks.  This past Thursday I made an awesome dish.  Chinese Chicken and Veggies. It was so delicious! I made Fried Rice to go along with it, and everyone loved the meal.  A very easy recipe, a few pots and pans, and planning, but so well worth it.

Chinese Chicken with Veggies

4 Chicken Cutlets sliced in strips
1 Cup Broccoli florets
1/4 cup Snow Peas
1/2 Red Pepper sliced in strips
1 small onion sliced in strips

Marinade
1/4 cup low sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Sesame Oil
2 Tbs Rice Vinegar
1 Tbs freshly grated Ginger
2 tsp sugar
2 TBS chopped Green Onions

Whisk all the Marinade ingredients together and pour half of it over the sliced strips of chicken and marinate for 2 hours in the frig.  Reserve the rest of the marinade for cooking.

In a large skillet, on medium heat, add 2 Tbs of canola oil and saute the onions until done, add the rest of the veggies, and lightly saute them until just about done, but don't overcook!

Take the veggies out of the skillet and put them aside.  Turn the heat to med/high, add 2 more Tbs of canola oil to the skillet and brown the chicken strips until done, no longer pink, and cooked through.

Turn down the heat to med/low, add the veggies back to the skillet, add the reserved marinade to the chicken and veggies and stir constantly so nothing burns for about 3 minutes until everything is combined.  Now TASTE IT!  What does it need?  Probably nothing right since there is plenty of salt in the soy sauce.

Fried Rice

2 cups cooked Rice, I used Jasmine
2 large eggs
1 Tbs chopped green onion
1/4 cup frozen peas
3 - 4 splashes of low sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbs butter

Cook up the rice. While the rice is cooking, in a large skillet add about 2 Tbs butter and melt.  Add the 2 eggs and scramble really well.  Turn off the heat and add the cooked rice, add the peas, and soy sauce.  Mix well, add the green onions for garnish.  Taste it....does it need more soy sauce?  YUMMO!

You can use whatever long grain Rice you want.  But Jasmine is really delicious. Also, you can add whatever you want to your Fried Rice.  This is the way my Mom use to make it for me when I was a kid, and it's so satisfying! 

Homemade Fried Rice!

Our Veggie Garden....and Chicken Pot Pie!

Hi everyone!  I'm linking this recipe up with Walking on Sunshine's Linky Party....Go take a look-see!

Happy Sunday!  I hope all are having a "day of rest", we try to rest on Sundays, but in the Summer months it sure is hard.  We went to church this morning, then my Hubby treated us to a breakfast out, it was nice not having to cook, and enjoyed spending the time with my family.

Our veggie garden is doing so well.  Everything is growing, and all the rain that we are getting helps, but I would rather not have so much of it!  We have about 10 Eggplant growing today, can't wait to make a batch of my "Oven-Fried Eggplant".  The Tomatoes are still green, but wow, we have so many.  There about 3 more Zucchini growing, and little tiny ones starting to grow, I have Beans galore to pick, and there's about 6 Banana Peppers to pick soon, and cucumbers, and 1 red pepper ready to be picked. The Brussel Sprouts leaves are huge, but nothing on them yet.

We did have some "pests" in the garden, bugs that is.  So we had to stay on it and spray them away!

Enjoy the pictures, I love sharing the bounty of our labor!

Zucchini!

Tomatoes!

Peppers!

Eggplant



Our "girls"....aka Chickens! And, NO, we don't eat our Chickens, only their EGGS! :)

So since I'm on the Chicken topic.....My girl Rebecca comes home today from her Missions Trip!  She's been away for a whole week.  I am cooking her favorite meal, Chicken Pot Pie, here's the recipe.  Enjoy!

Pie Crust for one pie

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup shortening

1 tsp salt

1 egg

water

1 tsp. vinegar

In a large bowl put the flour and salt, and shortening, then using a pastry cutter or 2 knives cut the shortening into the flour and salt. Using a liquid measuring cup, break one egg into it, and then fill it to the 1/2 cup line with ice cold water, and add 1 tsp vinegar.....YES vinegar......it will be fine you'll see. Mix it with a fork, then add it to the flour/shortening mixture and mix together with with a fork, then get your hands in there and gather the dough together don't be afraid, this pie dough recipe you can work the dough and it will still be flaky! Form into a round disk, if it's too wet, add a little more flour, too dry, add very little water....it will be sticky, but not overly sticky.....all depends on the day and humidity.......wrap in plastic wrap and put in the frig for about 1/2 hour, or you can even leave it in there for 2 days, or freeze it for whatever pie you want :)

Filling

About 2 cups COOKED shredded chicken breast or whatever you like, dark or white...mine are from the STORE! (if you don't know how to cook it, cut them up in small pieces, and put a little canoa oil in a frying pan, and cook until lightly brown)
2 cups milk, 2% or whole
4 TBS cornstarch
2 cups chicken stock or 2 cups water with 2 TBS chicken bouillon added (I use the water with bouillon)
4 TBS butter (don't worry you're not gonna eat the whole pie, well maybe you will)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups mixed frozen veggies (corn, peas, carrots, whatever)

In a large pot, add the milk, cornstarch, add the water with the bouillon mixed, or chicken stock, salt, pepper, butter,.whisk constantly, but watch it, keep whisking, you don't want it to burn.....it will start to bubble and become thickened, take off heat and add cheese, stir let it melt, and then add the COOKED chicken, and veggies.. stir.....COOL... now the pie crust

The filling!

Take the pie dough out of the frig, and on a well floured surface, cut the dough disk in half, take one of the halves and roll out, this is the bottom of the pie. Make sure you have a dusting of flour on the bottom and top of the dough before rolling, and on your rolling pin...roll out to a rectangle since you will use a 9x13 dish, or a round dish if you want to use a deep round casserole dish. Keep rolling take your time if it sticks add a little more flour, moving the dough so it doesn't stick, move it around after each roll with the pin.

Rolling out the pie dough/crust....EASY, you can do it!

Put it on the bottom of a 9x13 dish, then add the cooled filling, and roll out the top pie crust the same way, lay it carefully over the filling, seal the edges, and cut three holes in the top crust for vent holes. Bake in a 350 oven for 40 minutes until you see it bubbling and light brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving!

Done and ready for the oven!

Complete YUMMO! Enjoy!

The BEST BBQ Chicken!

Well, it's the last day of school for my daughter Becca.  Yesterday was my little boys last day.  I am excited that Summer has finally arrived in our household.  After a year of running, lazy mornings are so welcomed here. This all can be bittersweet for me, the end of school also means that my kids are growing up!

I've been making this BBQ Chicken for years, and it's really easy and delicious. I don't know how you all make your BBQ Chicken, but for me it has to be cooked before I put it on the grill, especially if I'm using "chicken on the bone"...... the chicken doesn't cook all the way through, and there's no way I'm eating "pink" chicken.
I cook the chicken first in the oven, in a dutch oven with about 3 cups of water, low and slow, for about 1 hour. Then on the grill it goes, topped with our favorite BBQ sauce, grilled to perfection, not BURNT!  The chicken comes out so moist, and tender, and caramelized, just the way we like it.  Try this way of BBQing your chicken, you'll NEVER go back!  ENJOY!

BBQ Chicken

1 package of a whole chicken cut up (or cut up a whole chicken)
water
Your favorite BBQ sauce (or make your own)

I always remove the skin from the breast and thighs from the chicken first, the skin gets mushy.

 In a dutch oven add the chicken and enough water to cover.  Cook in the oven for 1 hour on 350.

Skin removed and ready for the oven!

All cooked and ready for the GRILL!

Take out of the oven, and drain all the water, and start grilling, basting the chicken with the BBQ, sauce.  You can keep reusing the BBQ sauce because the chicken is fully cooked.  Make sure you cover every bit of chicken with that delicious BBQ sauce!  Grill until the chicken is all caramelized and delicious looking, it will be very tender so be careful it doesn't fall apart....YEP, it will be delicious and YUMMO! 

YUMMO!!!!