Orange Chicken

Eating out has been a hard habit to break. Well, more accurately take-out and delivery have been the hardest to break! As I have gotten more serious about my health and weight loss, two of the things I miss most are pizza delivery and Chinese delivery. I got into that mindset of needing a weekly break from cooking and ordering take-out was my break. For the past two weeks I have had a serious craving for Chinese food--most of my favorites are deep fried and drowning in delicious sauces!

Chinese just isn't in the budget right now--money or calorie wise. I had found a recipe a while back for a healthier version of orange chicken, but it left a lot to be desired in the flavor department. Since this was one of the dishes that I was craving the most I decided to tweak the recipe a lot, and I was happy with this version. It isn't deep fried with a nice crunch crust, but it did calm the urge to call for delivery!!

Orange Chicken

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
orange chicken sauce
toppings: orange pieces, green onions, sesame seeds, orange zest

ORANGE SAUCE:

3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. white pepper
zest of one orange
1 orange, cut into small sections
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute for about 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and nearly cooked through.

Pour in the orange chicken sauce, and stir to combine. Let the sauce come to a boil, then boil for an additional 3-5 minutes until thickened. During the last minute of cooking add the orange sections. Remove from heat and serve immediately over quinoa or rice. Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, orange pieces and additional orange zest.

ORANGE SAUCE:

Whisk all ingredients together until combined. 

Egg Rolls

This week I received cabbage in my Bountiful Basket. The first thing I though of was making egg rolls. I started with one package of egg roll wrappers, cabbage, carrots and a seasoned meat mixture. In these rolls, the meat is ground turkey, but I often make them without meat. You can also used chopped shrimp, crumbled tofu, or ground pork.

Mix the cabbage, carrots and the meat mixture, if using, until well combined.

You care going to start by laying the egg roll wrapper with one point toward you. Scoop some of the cabbage mixture onto the wrapper.

Roll the point facing you to the center of the egg roll.

Tuck in the corners, making sure that no filling is poking out.

Rolling away from you, keeping the roll fairly tight. If they aren't tight, then they will come apart when you are cooking them.

You will have this small point left. Using a small pastry brush or your finger, apply a small amount of water to the entire point, then finish rolling. The water will help it adhere to the rest of the egg roll, forming a seal.

At this point you are ready to cook them in a pan of hot oil. Drop them in, cooking until golden brown on both sides.

When I make egg rolls, I make the entire package or even two so that I can freeze the rest of them for later. Egg rolls aren't that hard to make, but can take a few extra minutes to get everything chopped up and ready to go. Having them in the freezer means that I can pull out what I need for dinner that night.

Dinner was lettuce wraps and egg rolls.

Egg Rolls

1 package of egg roll wrappers

2-3 cups of shredded cabbage

1-1 1/2 cups of shredded carrots

Optional: meat mixture

(ground turkey, ground pork, tofu crumbles, or chopped shrimp cooked with equal parts hoisin sauce and soy sauce and 1 tbs of ginger)

Combine all ingredients and scoop onto the center of an egg roll wrapper. Only pull out one wrapper at a time so they don't dry out.

Drop egg rolls into hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides.