Sweet & Sour Chicken

Quick, Easy & Delish

My family loves chinese food, well any food. I decided to make sweet and sour chicken. I actually cheat a little and use the La Choy sweet and sour sauce that you can buy at your local grocery store. Very quick and easy to make. This is a great meal to make during the week.

Here is what you need:

Onion & Bell pepper. Cook until tender

1 - 10oz bottle of La Choy sweet and sour sauce
1-2tbsp soy sauce (per your taste)
1 can pineapple tidbits (drained, reserve the pineapple juice)
1 bell pepper
1 small-medium size onion diced
3 chicken breats (cut in cubes)
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp pepper
1 cup flour
2tbsp canola oil
2tbsp coconut oil (if you do not have coconut oil, you can just 4tbsp of canola oil
1tbsp cornstarch
1tbsp water

Optional: Broccoli (use the stem fresh) or water chestnuts (drained). You can add either or both of these ingredients to your dish. Add these ingredients after you have cooked the onions and bell peppers. Make sure to drain the water chestnuts and the broccoli after you have cooked or steamed it.

Now time to prepare:

All ingredients in pan

Cut the chicken breast into cubes and season with salt and pepper. Coat chicken cubes with flour and set aside. Drain pineapple (remember to reserve the liquid). Dice onion and bell pepper and set aside. Heat oil in pan, once heated add chicken and brown. Remove and let drain. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes until tender, add pineapple and cook for another minute.

Add chicken back to pan. Add the La Choy sweet and sour sauce and the soy sauce to pan and mix all ingredients well, until everything is coated. Mix the cornstarch and water together and add to pan. This will help thicken the sauce. Cook for another minute, continue to stir. If sauce is too thick, add some of the pineapple juice that you reserved, only a tablespoon at a time. If sauce is too thin, mix more cornstarch and water together and add only a tablespoon at time until the right consistency has been reached.

Finished dish

Serve over white rice and broccoli on the side or mix the broccoli into the pan. Either way, it's delicious. You can also add water chestnuts to this dish as well.

Enjoy!

Egg rolls

HOMEMADE EGG ROLLS
(makes about 20 egg rolls)

Ingredients:

1/2 head shredded cabbage

Egg roll mixture

1-2 cups shredded carrots
2 tbsp grated ginger
3-4 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 large onion chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)
1 tbsp oil (will also need oil for frying egg rolls or you can bake in oven at 350, brush with oil and cook for about 20-30 minutes until golden brown)
1 tbsp sesame seed oil (optional)

All cooked and ready to fill the wrappers!

1 package egg roll wrappers (found in the refrigerated or freezer section). If they are in the freezer section, make sure they at room temperature before using.
1 tbsp water
Salt and pepper


Directions:

*Prep all items
*Heat the oil (regular oil and sesame seed oil) in pan. If not using sesame seed oil, you can use 2 tbsp of regular oil.
*Add onion, garlic and ginger to pan and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
*Add pork and cook until meat is done
*Add the cabbage and carrots
*Add in the soy sauce and oyster sauce and continue to stir and cook until veggies are tender.
*Add salt and pepper to taste.

Done and ready to eat

*Transfer mixture to a baking sheet and spread out
*Prop the pan up so that the juice will run as keeping the liquid in the mixture will cause the egg roll wrappers to become soggy.
*Or you can use a mesh strainer and let the liquid drain
*Once cooled and drain, you can start wrapping the egg rolls
*Take an egg roll wrapper and use about 1/8 cup mixture in each wrapper
*Make sure mixture is placed near the bottom corner of the wrapper
*Wrap the bottom end of the wrapper over the mixture, then fold in the sides to where they meet.
*Continue to tightly roll, while continuing to fold the wrapper inward.
*Place water on the top corner of wrapper to seal
*Make sure the egg roll is tightly wrapped so that the oil will not get inside of the egg roll. If not wrapped properly, you will have a very greasy egg roll.
*Heat oil in pan (medium high heat - that you will be frying the egg rolls in (I fry mine as I think they taste better). Or use a deep fryer
*Drop egg rolls and they only take a few minutes to cook.
*Lay on paper towel to drain excess oil and serve with soy sauce or sweet chili sauce