Easy Peanut Chicken

How was your weekend? Is it really Monday already? The weekend just goes by way too fast. It’s Saturday morning and you’re thinking oh this is nice, I still have Sunday. Then all of the sudden it’s Sunday night and you’re like crap, tomorrow is Monday. Such is life.

I have some good news for you. Well actually, it’s a good recipe for you. It’s definitely good news for those of you who enjoy a little Asian flare. This recipe is via Coach Nicole at Spark People. Which means it’s healthy too! Always a bonus when you like something AND it’s not sky high with calories.

I’m a bad food blogger. I didn’t take many pictures and the ones that I did take are very dark. It was a late night, what can I say. Natural light is very hard to come by when you’re eating dinner at 8:00. So please enjoy the one halfway decent picture that I have for you. 🙂

My family LOVED this chicken. You’ve probably gotten to know a little about my family by now (they’re picky) and so you know that this is big! The only real complaint I have with this sauce recipe is that it doesn’t make very much. I would definitely suggest that you double it if you’re feeding a family of 4. Also, you’ll want to make sure and eat it soon after making it. I placed the sauce in my crockpot while we went to the Y and when we came back it had kinda thickened up in consistency.

This meal came together really fast. No really, it was extremely quick to make. Browning the chicken was the most time-consuming step. And you know how fast you can brown up bite-size pieces of chicken.

Isn’t it nice to learn from someone else’s mistakes?

Easy Peanut Chicken
Recipe Type: Sauce, Main Dish
Author: Coach Nicole (Spark People)
Don’t sacrifice flavor to make something healthy. Enjoy creamy peanut sauce with your chicken in minutes!
Ingredients
  • 1/4 c. Peanut Butter (creamy)
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce (low-sodium is best)
  • 1-2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • 1/8 tsp Ground Ginger (optional)
  • 1/3 c. Warm Water
  • 2 Fresh Chicken Breasts, Cut into bite-size pieces
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and cook until browned.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients. Pour over chicken and heat through.
  3. Serve over rice!
Notes

Like I said in the post, I would suggest doubling the recipe. I also added a little bit more water (maybe 2 tbsp) to make it just a little runnier. You can adjust that to your liking.

If you like a little crunch, you can also add a few peanuts to your chicken in the end.

This would also be very tasty with tofu, veggies, or just plain pasta!


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Easy Mandarin Chicken

My girls have recently discovered mandarin oranges. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved fruit in any form. Even canned fruit strikes my fancy every now and then. I picked up a few cans of mandarin oranges the other day to see if my girls would enjoy it as much as I used to. I think ended up rekindling my love for the fruit myself. And as expected, they absolutely loved them. I really need to find myself a good sale to stock up on them.

In keeping with their latest obsession, I decided to make something that showcased two things that I know they’ll both like. Chicken and the new-found love, mandarin oranges.

To my utmost surprise, my ENTIRE family (including my incredibly picky husband and 5-year old) loved this meal! The 1-year old even cleaned her plate.  I cleaned mine and an entire 2nd plate as well. Hubby was really concerned about the sweet oranges being used with savory chicken, but when he was done he told me that he thought it worked really well together. SCORE!

I used edemame to kick up the nutrition and hid mushrooms with the onions. The mushrooms were quite stealth and the kiddos loved the edemame! In fact, Addie asked me at one point what kinda beans they were. I told her edemame and she replied “I really like edemame!”.

Those are words that I never expected to come out of my 5-year old’s mouth…

By the time dinner was over, I was floored. This was a meal that the whole family loved and it was actually healthy and good for them. That only happens in my dreams and on commercials doesn’t it?

Recipe adapted from 366 Low-Fat Brand-Name Recipes in Minutes Cookbook.

Easy Mandarin Chicken
Recipe Type: Main Dish
In just minutes, you’ll have a mouth-watering Asian meal with little effort!
Ingredients
  • 1 11 oz Can Mandarin Oranges
  • 2 & 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut into Bite-size Pieces
  • 1 Tbsp Canola Oil
  • 1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 Cup Chopped Onion
  • 1 & 1/2 c. Frozen Edemame
  • 8 Baby Bella Mushrooms, Sliced
Instructions
  1. Drain oranges, reserving 3 tbsp of the liquid. Mix together the reserved liquid with the soy sauce and set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook chicken in the oil over medium-high heat until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet. Add in the onions, edemame and mushrooms. Cook until onions are tender.
  3. Add the chicken back in along with the soy sauce mixture. Cook and stir to heat all of it through.
  4. Gently stir in the mandarin oranges right before serving.
  5. Goes well over rice!
Notes

If your group is not a fan of edemame, you can always use frozen snap peas in their place.

Teriyaki sauce can also be substituted in soy sauce’s place.

The addition of a couple drop of sesame oil would also make a nice addition.

Be prepared for a quick meal! This one takes no time at all to whip up!


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