Sweet and Sour Chicken With Green Beans

Ingredients:
1 c. white rice
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. white vinegar
1 T. vegetable oil
1 1/4 lbs. chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 bell peppers, seeded and diced large
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and halved
5 green onions, thinly sliced
2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 T. chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

Directions:
Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile in a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar. Set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over high. Add chicken, bell peppers, and green beans and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. add scallions, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes.
Whisk soy sauce mixture, add to skillet, and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Fluff rice with a fork. To serve, spoon chicken mixture over rice and top with peanuts if desired.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 25 minutes.
447 calories per serving.

Verdict:
Yum. I thought it was a little strange that this recipe called for white vinegar instead of the traditional rice vinegar but I liked the way it turned out. We will definitely be eating this one again.

Roasted Tomatillo Sauce Over Whole Wheat Linguine

Ingredients:
1 lb. tomatillos, husks removed
6 cloves garlic
1 T. olive oil
8 oz. dry whole wheat linguine or spaghetti (you can use regular too instead of whole wheat)
4 c. fresh spinach, loosely packed
2 T. chicken broth
2 T. fresh oregano leaves
2 T. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. each sugar, kosher salt, and red pepper flakes
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
shredded Parmesan for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
Combine tomatillos with garlic in a bowl; add oil and toss to coat. Transfer mixture to a baking dish roast for 35 minutes.
Cook linguine in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions.
Place roasted tomatillo mixture in a food processor; add spinach, broth, oregano, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper flakes. Process until sauce is blended.
Drain linguine; transfer to a bowl with cherry tomatoes. Add sauce and toss to coat linguine and tomatoes. Garnish each with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 45 minutes.
296 calories per serving

Verdict:
Blake and I both liked this. The kids thought that it was weird that it wasn't red sauce and so would therefore not eat it.

I Am Back...On Monday

I finally feel like myself again.
So...starting Monday there will be new recipes to try.
I hope you are excited.


Sorry it has been so long.