My family LOVES Chinese food. However, it costs us about $25 to go out to the Chinese Restaurant. I have mastered the art of cooking Sweet and Sour Chicken, my family actually prefers it to dining out, but my son could live off of Cashew Chicken (he likes to call it peanut chicken).
Since it was his birthday, I decided that I would make a whole Chinese-themed dinner.
Here is the the recipe I used for the
Cashew Chicken:
1 pound chicken (I used about 4 boneless skinless breasts)
1 egg
1/4 c milk
Since my chicken was frozen, I boiled it until it was almost all the way cooked through. Chopped it up into bite size pieces. Then I dipped it in the egg and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Tossed it in the flour that I seasoned with a dab of wheat germ, seasoned salt and some pepper. It sat there until I could mess with it. Then I "fried" it in corn oil on the stove top. Since it was pretty well already cooked, we were just going after the crispy outside.
For the sauce:
2 c of the broth from boiling the chicken
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce (this mostly what you want for your taste. We used about 3, and we would've preferred more!)
4tbsp cornstarch
cashews
You will need to get about 1/2 cup of your broth and add the cornstarch to it, and mix. Set aside. Combine the remaining broth, salt and soy sauce. Bring it to a boil and add the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir until it thickens. Remove from heat. Top chicken with the sauce and cashews serve over homemade fried rice.
I also tried my hand at making egg rolls. After making the chickaritos, I realized that it wouldn't be as hard as I had made them out to be. I just randomly came up with my own adaptation of egg rolls. I loved them, and so did the kids...but Willie wasn't a huge fan. I think because they weren't fried!
Egg Rolls:
egg roll wrappers
pre-bagged coleslaw mix (since it was on sale for .99! This way I didn't have to chop anything!)
pepper
garlic salt
soy sauce
In a medium sized bowl, put bag of coleslaw, about 1/4 c soy sauce, 1 tsp-ish of pepper, and 1 tsp of garlic pepper. Mix up. Turn the egg roll wrappers to look like a diamond. Put about 3 tbsp filling and fold up the corner closest to you to just on top of the filing. Take the 2 sides and bring them in. Roll and seal the end with water. You can brush them with butter, spray them with cooking spray, or just leave 'em naked. That is what we did. Bake at 425 for about 18-2o minutes.
Y-U-M-M-Y!! It's a lot cheaper than eating out and probably healthier too. We came in right under $5 for the meal, and I had leftovers. I would say probably .80 cents a plate compared to the approx $4.50 a plate when weat out. For more frugal friday ideas visit Biblical Womanhood and to find more great recipes visit Gayle over at Grocery Cart Challenge.
Since it was his birthday, I decided that I would make a whole Chinese-themed dinner.
Here is the the recipe I used for the
Cashew Chicken:
1 pound chicken (I used about 4 boneless skinless breasts)
1 egg
1/4 c milk
Since my chicken was frozen, I boiled it until it was almost all the way cooked through. Chopped it up into bite size pieces. Then I dipped it in the egg and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Tossed it in the flour that I seasoned with a dab of wheat germ, seasoned salt and some pepper. It sat there until I could mess with it. Then I "fried" it in corn oil on the stove top. Since it was pretty well already cooked, we were just going after the crispy outside.
For the sauce:
2 c of the broth from boiling the chicken
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce (this mostly what you want for your taste. We used about 3, and we would've preferred more!)
4tbsp cornstarch
cashews
You will need to get about 1/2 cup of your broth and add the cornstarch to it, and mix. Set aside. Combine the remaining broth, salt and soy sauce. Bring it to a boil and add the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir until it thickens. Remove from heat. Top chicken with the sauce and cashews serve over homemade fried rice.
I also tried my hand at making egg rolls. After making the chickaritos, I realized that it wouldn't be as hard as I had made them out to be. I just randomly came up with my own adaptation of egg rolls. I loved them, and so did the kids...but Willie wasn't a huge fan. I think because they weren't fried!
Egg Rolls:
egg roll wrappers
pre-bagged coleslaw mix (since it was on sale for .99! This way I didn't have to chop anything!)
pepper
garlic salt
soy sauce
In a medium sized bowl, put bag of coleslaw, about 1/4 c soy sauce, 1 tsp-ish of pepper, and 1 tsp of garlic pepper. Mix up. Turn the egg roll wrappers to look like a diamond. Put about 3 tbsp filling and fold up the corner closest to you to just on top of the filing. Take the 2 sides and bring them in. Roll and seal the end with water. You can brush them with butter, spray them with cooking spray, or just leave 'em naked. That is what we did. Bake at 425 for about 18-2o minutes.
Y-U-M-M-Y!! It's a lot cheaper than eating out and probably healthier too. We came in right under $5 for the meal, and I had leftovers. I would say probably .80 cents a plate compared to the approx $4.50 a plate when weat out. For more frugal friday ideas visit Biblical Womanhood and to find more great recipes visit Gayle over at Grocery Cart Challenge.
3 comments:
I LOOOOOVE egg rolls!! Thank you, thank you for sharing the recipe!!
mmmm... I must try this! I love me some cashew chicken!
I wish my family was more willing to try diff foods like that.
Post a Comment