Chinese food – Makin' it Mo'Betta

My New Year’s Resolution was to publish a blog post at least 3 days a week. FAIL. But hey, I’m here today & I have a pretty easy dinner to share. If you know me through the blog or in real life, you know that I have three kids that keep me running constantly from one end of the county to the other with all their extracurriculars. Who has time to plan & execute elaborate meals? Not me. However, I still want to cook decent meals for my family, so quick & easy is where it’s at. Who’s with me?

I love Asian inspired food, as does my oldest daughter. I like making it at home because I can make it so much healthier than take-out. Plus, we have one local Chinese place…and it wasn’t very good the one time I’ve been. This Baked Sesame Chicken is fairly simple to make, just takes a few ingredients, and is baked instead of fried – which makes this a healthier (and less messy…I hate frying) option.

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Recipe adapted from

Even though I would have liked a nice thick sauce to add at the end, I didn’t want to use the sauce that the chicken cooked in because it contains so much chicken fat (thighs are fatty), but it is certainly an option (just thicken with cornstarch). I think next time I may reserve some of the sauce, thicken it, and baste it on, under the broiler at the very end. That would give it a sticky sauce, kind of like my Slow Cooked Sticky Chicken. The chicken has a good flavor & is good with rice or sesame noodles. We also had egg rolls, which I normally make from scratch, but these were super convenient!

What’s your favorite Chinese food? I want to try some other dishes at home. This Bourbon Chicken is one of my favorites!

I may be linking up at any of the following – (Monday) , , , (Tuesday) ,, , (Wednesday) , , , (Thursday) , , (Friday) , , , ,, , , , , (Sunday)

This is called Bourbon Chicken, but I made a few small changes in the recipe, and it tasted just like General Tso’s Chicken to me. Since I’ve never actually ordered Bourbon Chicken, I left the name, b/c who knows, maybe they taste the same. Whatever you want to call it, you can also call it delicious! This was SO good, and the closest I have come to restaurant flavor at home. The best part…it’s not FRIED!

I prepared mine in my cast iron skillet, but I think it could be made in any frying pan.

Bourbon (or General Tso’s!) Chicken

adapted from – my changes are in italics

2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts – cut into bite size chunks

1 T. olive oil

3/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 t. fresh ginger, minced

1/4 cup orange juice

1/3 cup light brown sugar & Stevia blend

2 T. ketchup

1 T. rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1 T. cornstarch

Notes: I mixed my brown sugar with Stevia in the Raw to decrease the sugar a little, but you can use all brown sugar if desired. I also used orange juice instead of apple (b/c that’s what I had on hand), and I used fresh ginger and rice wine vinegar since I had them. You could use ground ginger and apple cider vinegar as per original recipe instead. Also, this is spicy so adjust the red pepper accordingly. I used a generous 3/4 tsp and thought it was delicious, but it was too hot for the rest of the fam. (I left some plain cooked chicken out for the kids.)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
Add red pepper flakes and stir for about 30 seconds.
Add chicken and cook until lightly browned.
Remove chicken from pan and add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well blended and dissolved.
Add chicken back into pan with sauce and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes uncovered.

I served mine over brown rice, with green onions and sesame seeds. If you like Chinese food, I would recommend giving this a try!

I am linking this recipe up at (Monday) , , , ,, , , , , , , , (Tuesday) , , , , , , ,, , (Wednesday) , , , , , , , , (Thursday) , , , , , (Friday) , , , , , ,, , , , ,, (Saturday) , , , , (Sunday)