Kung Pao Chicken Stir Fry

Im dubbing this kung pao stir fry because typical kung pao only has green onions and I like to stretch out my chinese by adding lots of veggies. I added mushrooms, carrots and pea pods to my recipe, but feel free to add your favorite veggies. This is a pretty saucy version of the recipe because my husband enjoys extra sauce for his rice. Feel free to cut the sauce in half.

1lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1" pieces
1 T cornstarch
4 t sesame oil
5T rice wine vinegar
6T soy sauce
6t sugar
1/2 cup peanuts
3 green onions and tops (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
3/4 t crushed red pepper (like spice? add more, dont like spice? add less)
1t dried ginger
3/4 cup pea pods or sugar snap peas
1 medium carrot juillened
8 white mushrooms quartered
Rice

1. Coat chicken in cornstarch
2. On medium high....Heat 2t sesame oil. Add chicken and saute 5-7 minutes until no longer pink. Remove
3. Add remaining 2t oil to pan Add carrots, mushrooms and pea pods. Saute 5 minutes
4. While veggies are cooking make your sauce. Mix vinegar, soy and sugar until sugar dissolves.
5. To veggies: Add onions, garlic, ginger and red pepper. Saute 1 minute.
6.. Pour in sauce. Stir
7. Add chicken back to the pan. Add peanuts
8. Cover and reduce heat....simmer mixture about 4-5 minutes

Serve over rice.

Chicken Fried Rice

This comes out of your freezer and tastes JUST LIKE TAKEOUT! Im not joking here either. Its amazing! The cool thing is you can make it in mass quantities and freeze it. Just thaw the bag and in 10 minutes you have dinner! I adapted my version from this recipe from the oamc guru Tish at the Zaar. Its a gigantic recipe. I make 8 freezer packets from it.(feeding 2 people)  Feel free to divide it to meet your needs.

For the rice mix:
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups chopped carrot
1 chopped sweet onion
12 cups rice (cooked and cooled and yes you can use minute rice if you want)
2lbs of chopped cooked chicken (yes you can use leftovers)

1. Mix everything is a large bowl.
2. Portion, label and freeze.
I get 8 bags out of this with 2 servings each in them. Portion your bags according to your family's needs. Just adjust the quanties below.

To cook a 2 portion bag:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
3 TBSP soy sauce

1. Thaw bag and squeeze to break up rice
2. Heat oil in large skillet
3. Fry rice in hot oil over medium heat stirring frequently for 5 minutes
4. Add soy sauce to taste. (about 3 tbsp more or less to taste)
5. Push rice to the size of the pan. Add eggs to other side
6. Allow egg to cook until thick. Break up and the stir into rice
7. Serve

This is an easy thing to make for dinner. I serve with a couple egg rolls (I buy a big bag of frozen from BJs)

Asian Chicken Salad Bar

Every now and then I get a craving for an Asian inspired salad with mandarin oranges, nuts and chicken. I ate them alot when pregnant. Applebees, Panara and even Wendy's have their own take on it. This is mine. It uses grilled chicken instead of fried because Id rather use my calories elsewhere. Its loaded with crunchy goodness! I didnt really measure as I kinda made it a "salad bar" so everyone could help themselves and create their own. This is what should make a salad bar for about 8 people. They will be dinner sized salads. There may be extras depending on how your clan fills their plates

*16oz chopped romaine lettuce
*16oz chopped iceburg lettuce
*4oz chopped napa cabbage
*2 carrots matchsticked
*1 bag of frozen peapods (defrosted)
*10 oz dry roasted almonds
*1 (24.5) oz jar of mandarin oranges (i used dole)
*1 (4ish) oz package of crunchy wonton strips (found in salad section made by fresh express)
*1 medium can of LaChoy rice noodles
*2-2.5 lbs of grilled chicken (depending on how carnivorous your crowd is. You tend to need more meat if their are more men)
*Seasoning for chicken (I use Pampered chef Asian seasoning mix because I have it, but you can pretty much use anything you want. A little garlic and soy would be really good. You can also use leftover chicken)
*Your favorite Asian salad dressing. I used Asian Ginger from Marzetti. You will probably need 2 bottles for 8 people. (or you can make your own! I was going to but I was out of sesame oil)

1. Season and grill chicken.
2. Mix romaine, iceburg, napa cabbage and matchsticked carrot in a BIG serving bowl.
3. Put other ingredients in their own bowl
4. Give your guests a plate and tell them to dig in

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Spicy Beef & Broccoli Stirfry

I got this recipe at a Pampered Chef party a few years ago. It is so tasty and doesnt take a ton of time to make. I trim my steak, throw it in to marinate and do the rest of the prep while Im waiting. After that the stir frying takes only about 6 minutes max. That's enough time to make minute rice in the microwave (or boil asian noodles)

1/4 c light soy sauce (I am a kikkoman girl)
1T cornstarch
2T veg oil (divided)
1 boneless beef sirloin steak (about 1-1/4lb trimmed and cut in 1/4 inch strips)
3 cups broccoli flowerts
1 med onion
1 med red pepper
2 garlic cloves pressed
1t chopped fresh ginger root
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/2 cup beef broth

1. whisk soy sauce, cornstarch and 1T oil together. Add beef. Refrigerate 15 minutes
2. Cut onions and peppers into strips. Press garlic, chop ginger
3. Heat 2 t oil. (med hi) Add beef, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Stirfry 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside
4. Add 1t oil to hot pan. Add broccoli, onion, and red pepper. Stir fry 3-4 minutes or until crisp/tender.
5. Return beef to skillet. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Boil 1 minunte stirring gently until sauce thickens slightly

**You can serve over rice or asian noodles. I just used a pack of ramen (10 cents baby) and made a spicy beef lo mein**