Author: Jo

General Tsao’s Chicken

Like many of you, my favorite Chinese take out dish is General Tsao’s Chicken.  I’m also a big fan of chow mein, fried rice, beef and broccoli, and egg rolls.  But I don’t think I’ve ordered Chinese take out without getting some form of General Tsao’s Chicken.  There’s just something about that crispy breaded chicken slathered in that sweet and tangy, sometimes spicy suace that gets my taste buds going.

Now, I’m pretty sure that even though it is a “Chinese” dish, I’m almost positive that they don’t have General Tsao’s Chicken in China.  It’s one of those dishes that is totally Americanized, but we like to pretend that we’re actually eating Chinese food.

I was watching a segment on TV one time where these journalists were walking around some of the busiest cities in China handing out fortune cookies asking the locals if they knew what it was.  Almost 100% of the people they talked to had no clue what a fortune cookie was, and the ones that actually took a bite were shocked to find a piece of paper inside the cookie.  If that doesn’t give you a clue as to where our “Chinese Food” actually originated, I don’t know what does.

Ok enough rambling.  Now that I’ve completely gone off on a tangent, how about a delicious new recipe to add to your repertoire?  Can you guess what that recipe is?  That’s right!!!!  General Tsao’s Chicken!  Did the title give it away?

Here’s what you’ll need: (serves 2)

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 Tbsp sherry
  • salt
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup broccoli (chopped)
  • 1 cup green or red bell pepper (chopped)
  • peanut oil, enough to coat the pan (I didn’t have this so I used olive oil)
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup General Tsao’s sauce (found in the international foods aisle at your grocery store)

Chop bell pepper into thick strips (about an inch thick).

 

Then turn the pepper to the side and chop again into bite sized pieces. (Steve took this picture for me so I could use both hands…..how nice of him!)

 

Here’s a nice little pile of chopped bell pepper.  This Christmas, Steve gave me a new WONDERFUL lens for my camera, as well as a tripod, so my pictures are turning out clearer than ever!  Thanks, Baby!

 

Next, chop up some broccoli into bite-sized pieces.

 

Chop your chicken into……you guessed it…..bite-sized pieces.  Place in a bowl, add the sherry, and mix around with your fingers so that each piece of chicken is coated in the sherry.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  (You could do this step first so the chicken can marinate while you’re chopping your veggies, but I was waiting for my chicken to defrost, so that is why I waited until now).

 

Add cornstarch to a plate.

 

Once the chicken has finished marinating, add to the cornstarch and toss to coat.  Make sure every piece is completely covered and there are no wet spots.  You may want to scoop the chicken out of the bowl by hand instead of just dumping it onto the plate.  It will probably help keep the wetness to a minimum.

 

Add your cooking oil to a large skillet and heat over medium high heat.  Add your chicken in a single layer to the hot oil.

 

Make sure you turn chicken periodically during cooking so that all sides get browned.  Once chicken is golden brown, remove and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

 

Add broccoli and peppers to the hot skillet and let cook for about a minute or so.  If you like your broccoli a little softer and not so crunchy, you can boil it for a few minutes prior to adding it to the skillet.

 

Add chicken back to the pan.

 

This is the General Tsao’s sauce that I picked up at the grocery store.  It was really tasty!  I had a recipe to make the sauce from scratch, but I couldn’t find one of the ingredients, so I decided to take the easier route and use the pre-made stuff instead of chancing that the absence of this one ingredient would completely ruin the sauce.

 

Add about 1/3 – 1/2 cup of the sauce to the chicken and veggies and stir to coat completely.

 

Doesn’t that just look divine!!!?  By the way….this is not a low calorie meal.  So just keep that in mind. 😉

 

Add chicken and veggies to a bowl on top of a fluffy bed of white rice.  The crispiness of the chicken really added great texture to the dish!  It is definitely a repeater meal in our house!  Enjoy!

The Pregnancy Chronicles: 20 weeks (Half Baked!)

Well, I’ve made it past the half-way point in my pregnancy.  Today I am 20 weeks and 5 days pregnant.  This past Monday we had our anatomy scan ultrasound, and Baby McVey looked PERFECT!  And in case you didn’t already know from reading my facebook page, Baby McVey is a BOY!!!  Steve and I had a bet going about the gender, and he ended up winning (since I was sure he was a girl).  So now he gets to pick out all of our son’s outfits from birth up until he is 2 months old, and I don’t get any say in it.  I’m not sure what I’ve gotten myself into, but hopefully my husband has good taste in clothes (which he does).

When we were in Babies R Us the other day, I held up an outfit that I thought was cute and asked him if it was something he would pick out for our son, and he said that he would.  So it looks like we have the same taste in clothes, which I hope is a good sign!

If I had won the bet, and he was a girl, I would have gotten to decorate the nursery however I wanted, and Steve wouldn’t have been able to say anything about it if he didn’t like it.

He measured at 12 oz in weight, which according to our doctor is exactly right for his age.  We were able to get a very good look at the heart and all four chambers are developing perfectly!  His heart rate was 157 bmp, and his heart was located on the left side of his chest, which the technician said is what they always want to see.  Apparently there’s a condition that some babies have where all their organs are reversed, and the ones that are supposed to be on the left are on the right, and vice versa.

Here’s a picture of his little foot.

He had his hand in his face the entire time, sucking on his thumb.  At one point he opened his mouth really wide and tried to stick his whole hand in there!  We could clearly see him doing the sucking motion with his mouth and it was so cute to watch.

He even did a big yawn at one point and it was SO adorable!

And here’s the money shot.  His little manhood is sticking up right underneath the word “Boy”.  I’m sure he’ll be so happy with me when he gets old enough to care that his little thing-a-ling was on display for the whole world to see.

I’m starting to really show now too!  Today was the first day that a stranger actually asked me when my due date is.  I feel like it’s official now and I finally look pregnant to other people and not just myself.

Amazing to think that just 4 weeks ago, my belly looked like this. (16 weeks)

And 6 weeks before that, I looked like this! (10 weeks)

Pretty soon I won’t be able to see my toes……wait a minute……ok good.  I was just checking to make sure I could still see my toes.  We’re good for now!  Phew!

Mom’s Deviled Eggs

At my parents’ church in California (the church where I grew up) my mom is famous for her Deviled Eggs recipe.  At many of the church events, parties, and potlucks, her Deviled Eggs are always requested.  And they are gobbled up within minutes of setting them out.  Her Deviled Eggs are honestly the best I’ve ever tasted, and this New Year’s Eve I whipped out the recipe she gave me and made them for myself for the first time.  Now I am happy to share them with you!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 6 large eggs (makes 12 Deviled Eggs)
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • a few dashes of black pepper
  • a sprinkling of paprika

Start by hard boiling your eggs.  I messed up the first batch and had to redo this step.  What?  I had never hard boiled an egg before!

When your eggs are cooked and cooled, peel and cut in half lengthwise.

 

Scoop yolks out with a spoon and place in a small or medium bowl.  With a fork, mash your egg yolks until they are in little crumbly bits.

 

Add mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Make sure you measure out the vinegar.  I eyeballed it and it ended up being a little strong in the vinegar department…..but still good!

 

I forgot to take a picture while I was mixing the egg yolks with the other ingredients, but you should mix it first with a spoon or fork, and then if you have one, mix the rest of the way with an immersion blender.  It really helps get all those lumps out to create a smooth yolk filling.

Add the mixture to a piping bag with a small star tip.  You can also cut the corner of a Ziploc bag and use that as your piping bag and tip.

 

Pipe the filling into the empty egg halves into a swirly shape.  It helps if you have an egg platter so your eggs don’t wobble around when you’re trying to fill or transport them.  (Thanks for my egg platter Aunt Diane!)

 

Sprinkle each egg with a pinch of paprika and you are ready to serve…..and eat!!  Delish!!!

 

And I will leave you with Lazarus’s first picture of 2012.

P.S.  I took all these pictures with my new Canon 24-70mm F/2.8 camera lens that my wonderful husband gave me for Christmas!