General Tso's Chicken - Lighter Version

I love Asian Cuisine don't you?

On of my favorite dishes is General Tso's Chicken.  That sweet and spicy sauce gets me every time!  But...it's not very nice in keeping the girly figure.  Typically battered and deep fried it loads up on the fat and calories.  What's a girl to do?  Make a lighter version, that's what!

So I got out my trusty wok and set to work.  You can use a large skillet if you like, it works just fine.

So to cut the calories I decided to prepare the chicken in my usual fashion which is stir-frying it light oil with a coating of cornstarch on the chicken.  Once this is done you can add the General Tso's sauce and have the same flavors as the real dish without all the fat and calories.  Perfect!

This version is all about the chicken and the sauce with some added peanuts for crunch.  You can certainly add any vegetables you like to make it even healthier.  Just make sure to cook the chicken, remove, cook the veggies, then add the chicken back with the peanuts, then add the sauce until heated through.  It's more of a method than anything.  You can use this method with any stir-fry.

Stir-frys are easy to make and perfect for a weeknight meal.  So instead of calling for take-out try this version at home.  It's every bit as good as take out, if not better.

Enjoy!


General Tso's Chicken - Lighter Version




1/4 c chicken broth
1 1/2 T. tomato paste
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice vinegar
1 t hoisin sauce
1 t chili paste
1 t sesame oil
1 T. sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

½ 1b boneless skinless chicken breasts

¼ c. cornstarch

2 T. canola oil
1/3 c roasted, unsalted peanuts
brown rice, cooked
 
In a small bowl combine your chicken broth, tomato paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, sugar, and cornstarch.  Stir to combine and set aside.


Cut chicken in to bite sized pieces.  Place cornstarch on a plate and roll chicken, covering all sides.  

Heat oil in a wok or skillet.  Add chicken and stir fry over medium high heat about 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  Add cashews and stir until they are toasted.  Add stir fry sauce and toss until ingredients are covered.

Serve over hot cooked brown rice.

Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans

 

Fresh in season vegetables are calling out to me!

I love going to the farmer's market and picking out fresh fruit and vegetables to use in a fabulous dish.  My problem is that I get so flustered from all the gorgeous looking items that I tend to want to over buy.  I mean really over buy, to the point I can't carry it out of the market to the car!

Talking to our local farmers is so interesting.  You can learn a lot about fresh veggies and how they are grown, picked at their peak, and even what their favorite cooking techniques are.  I found some wonderful green beans, potatoes, eggplant, and squash at one farmers stand.  I could just smell all the freshness around me and knew I had to have some for a quick dinner for MGG and me.  

Sometimes the simplest way to cook something is the best.  Roasting vegetables is easy, hands off, and brings out great flavor in your ingredients.  Add a little garlic to the mix and  you turn plain roasted green bean from ho-hum to fabulous!
Try it, you'll be pleased.

I made this dish to accompany my Chicken Cutlets with Almond Butter and it was just perfect.  Elegant yet simple.  Flavorful yet subtle.  

You decide...and make sure to let me know.

Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans

Serves 4

Time 30 min

1 lb red potatoes quartered

3 T olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic minced, divided

Salt

8 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and halved

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss the potatoes with 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 clove of minced garlic.  Season with salt.  Spread in single layer on baking sheet.  Roast for 15 minutes.

Toss green beans with remaining olive oil and garlic.  Season with salt.  Add green beans to the baking sheet along with the potatoes.  Roast for 10 minutes.  Toss green beans and potatoes together before serving.

Chicken Cutlets with Almond Butter

 

This dish does double duty...

It's a quick and easy weeknight meal...and...it's elegant enough to serve company.  

What's better than that?  You can whip up a quick dish any night of the week and treat your family to a restaurant style meal.  Or, you can save a load of time when you entertain friends by making this dish and still leave them impressed by your ability to make a wonderful tasting meal.

The key to quickly cooking this dish are the thin slice chicken breasts, often called cutlets.  You can buy them thin sliced in the store or you can make your own by taking a half chicken breast and slicing it through the width of the breast so you have two full thin pieces.  Thin cutlets cook up really quick so you need to watch them and not over cook them or they will dry out and become tough.

The other thing that makes this dish special is the sauce.  It's not made with Almond Butter (a different version of peanut butter) as the name implies, but with BUTTER, and slivered almonds.  It's okay!  You can live a little and use butter to make this wonderful sauce.  Just don't eat this everyday!  The sauce is silky and smooth and is wonderful over the chicken.  This pan sauce makes this dish!

Served beside roasted potatoes and green beans this is a wonderful meal!  Stay tuned for the side dish recipe up next.

Enjoy!

Chicken Cutlets with Almond Butter

serves 4
adapted from Cuisine at Home

Ingredients

2 T flour

4 boneless skinless chicken cutlets (thin sliced breasts)

salt & pepper

1 T canola oil

1/4 c almonds, slivered

1/2 c dry white wine or chicken broth

4 T butter

2 T chives, chopped

Place flour in a pan.  Season cutlets with salt and pepper.  Dredge cutlets in flour, shaking off excess.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; saute chicken until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side; remove and set aside.

Add almonds to pan and toast, about 3 minutes.  Add wine or chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan; allow to simmer until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Off the heat stir in butter until melted and sauce thickens.  Add chives to sauce.  Divide sauce among each serving of chicken.