Tag Archives: broccoli

Honey Cashew Chicken

I think I might have found the perfect meal.  For someone who didn’t eat much Asian food as a kid, I have identified Asian flavors as being my favorite thing to make and eat.  When I have nothing else to eat, my go-to is either chicken, rice, pasta or veggies with some kind of soy sauce-rice-vinegar-sriracha sauce.  This Honey Cashew Chicken is exactly right up my alley.  A little bit of protein, a little bit of veggies, a little bit of carbs in a sweet, spicy and salty sauce – Yes!

Bite-sized pieces of chicken are tossed in a light coating of cornstarch and cooked in a hot skillet with canola and sesame oil.  Fresh broccoli, red pepper and edamame are added and stir-fried until perfectly crisp before being mixed with cashews and a perfect concoction of soy sauce, honey and sriracha.  Served with a side of brown rice or quinoa, this will be a meal I will make again and again.

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The ingredients:

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Combine chicken, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bowl; toss to coat.

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Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola and sesame oils. Add chicken mixture, and sauté for 4 minutes or until lightly browned.

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Increase heat to high, and add broccoli, edamame, garlic, onion and red pepper.  Cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and chicken is done, stirring frequently.  Stir in cashews.

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Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.   Add vinegar mixture to chicken mixture; toss to coat.

Serve with rice or quinoa.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:

  • Onion

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light magazine

Rotini and Cheese with Broccoli and Ham

Yes, I made a dish with ham. Before you fall over, true to form, I used turkey ham. I was at my local Whole Foods one day, spotted it and ended up bringing it home with me for some unknown reason. I make dishes using ground turkey, turkey bacon and turkey sausage but turkey ham? I don’t crave ham or really miss eating it but I ate it often as a kid. My mom would make ham and usually serve it with peas and either macaroni and cheese or some kind of cheesy noodle. I admit that when I was younger, ham was one of my favorite dinners. In fact, at Thanksgiving, we had both turkey and ham and I never ate the turkey. My how things have changed.

Rotini and Cheese with Broccoli and Ham seemed like a perfect way to use up the turkey ham. The ham is mixed with pasta, chopped broccoli and a creamy cheese sauce made tangy by the addition of dijon mustard. Use any cheese you might have lingering in your refrigerator if you don’t want to use Velveeta. With simple seasonings of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, this is a flavorful, jazzed up version mac-and-cheese that packs up well for workday lunches.

The ingredients:

Cook pasta according to package directions and add the broccoli when 5 minutes are left. Drain.

While the pasta cooks, spoon flour into a medium saucepan and gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese, dijon mustard, salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Combine pasta mixture, cheese sauce, and ham and serve.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

  • Whole-wheat rotini
  • Reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Chicken-and-Veggie Stir-fry

I had a nice long three-day weekend this past weekend and got to spend all of Friday with a bunch of my friends eating a lot of soft pretzels and pasta and drinking a lot of beer.  And wine.  And bloody marys.  So, feeling a little heavy on the carbs, I decided I wanted to finish the weekend with something a little lighter, preferably with lots of veggies.  Chicken-and-Veggie Stir-fry turned out to be just what I wanted.

Thinly sliced chicken is cooked and stir-fried with yellow squash, broccoli, green onions and red pepper.  Small additions of lime juice, soy sauce, and chili-garlic sauce adds punches of flavor.  This is a very versatile recipe that could be made with any of your favorite vegetables or even tofu.  The recipe calls for broccolini but I used regular broccoli here and I also reduced the cornstarch on the chicken by less than half when I prepared this.  If you like a slightly crispier coating to your chicken, keep the cornstarch at the full amount.  I also used thinly sliced chicken breasts from my grocery store which cook quickly in stir-fries and are also cheaper than regular chicken breasts.  I really love a brightly colored and visually appealing dish like this, especially when it can be made in one pot.  Serve this over rice, quinoa, or simply eat it plain like I did.

 

The ingredients:

Sprinkle chicken with salt and toss with cornstarch.

Stir-fry the chicken in oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until golden brown and done, about 5 or 6 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm.

Add broccoli and 1/4 cup broth to the pan and cover,  cooking 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Transfer to plate with chicken.

Add remaining oil to the skillet and sauté bell pepper, squash and green onions for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Whisk together 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and remaining 3/4 cup broth until cornstarch dissolves.  Add broth mixture, chicken, and broccoli to bell pepper mixture in skillet.  Cook, stirring often, 1 minute or until liquid thickens.

Stir in lime juice, soy sauce, and chili-garlic sauce.  

Serve over hot cooked rice, quinoa or enjoy as-is.

Additions:  None

Omissions: 

  • 1/2 of the cornstarch

Substitutions:

  • Broccoli

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Southern Living Magazine

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