Lighten Up: General Tso's Chicken

Well, if I get this posted today (Saturday), I can say that I made my one post a week deal. :) I just need to get posting on my to-do list and maybe it would just get done. I love doing this, but other things often drown it out. My inspiration to post today came from an excited purchase I made today. Pooling some Christmas money together, I was able purchase a new camera! It's my first digital SLR, the Canon Digital Rebel XSi. I chose this one because it's said to be a good beginner SLR, and I'm definitely a beginner! The suggestion came from Gina at Skinnytaste.com, who uses the XSi for her food blog photos. I can't wait to get it, figure out how it works (this is key), and start using it! Hopefully this will help enhance the look of my blog and get me posting more! :)

As for the recipe-I tried this a few weeks back, after we had just eaten at a local Chinese buffet with my side of the family. I love their General Tso's Chicken and Mongolian Beef, but I know they are not the best options for someone trying to shed a few pounds. I came across this recipe on Ziplist (which is great if you haven't discovered it yet), and decided to give it a try because of the rave reviews in the comment section. I adapted it a bit to fit what I had on hand and it was a winner! I don't know if I can say that it's better than Imperial Buffet, but it satisfies the Chinese take-out desire in a lighter way. I paired it with some teriyaki veggies and fresh pineapple. Hope you give it a try!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups long-grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1-1/2 lbs. snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise (or more if you like snow peas like I do)
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 2 large eggs or 2 large egg whites
  
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Cook rice according to package directions.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 Tbsp of the corn starch and 1/2 cup cold water, mixture is no longer lumpy. Add snow peas, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes and toss to coat in the cornstarch mixture.

In a another bowl, mix together beaten eggs, 3 Tbsp corn starch, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken pieces, shaking off the excess egg mixture. Cook until golden brown, turning a few times (6-8minutes). Remove chicken and cook the remaining chicken, adding another 1 Tbsp of oil to the pan. Remove chicken.

Add snow pea mix to the skillet and cook, covered 3-5 minutes until the peas are tender crisp and the sauce as thickened. Return chicken to skillet and toss with the peas and sauce. Serve with brown rice.

Barely adapted from Martha Stewart's Lighter General Tso's Chicken recipe

Enjoy!
e

Happy Chinese New Year!

With two cousins who attended a Chinese immersion school and two Chinese friends, I decided it would be fun to make some Chinese food to celebrate Chinese New Year! The noodles are traditional for celebrating the New Year in China-symbolizing long life, and the longer the better. Although the symbolism is celebrated in China, I just love eating them! There are more foods that are traditionally eaten to celebrate the New Year, but being cheap and wanting to use what I had on hand, I decided to make some lettuce wraps with some Chinese flavors. We enjoyed our "Chinese" dinner with chopsticks, which is always a fun way to enjoy Chinese (and eat slower!). I looked at several recipes for the noodles and wraps, but sort of put my own spin on them both.

Chinese New Year Noodles (with red dragon tails-for the year of the dragon)

1 package Chinese wheat noodles, or soba noodles
2 Tbsp canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (dragon tails) :)
2 carrots, one julienned, one shredded
1 cup bean sprouts
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp chili garlic paste or Sriacha sauce, optional*adds heat

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in wok or large skillet on high. Add garlic and stir rapidly to avoid garlic burning. Quickly add veggies. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Combine soy sauce, hosin sauce, sugar, stock and optional chili paste in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Add to veggies and stir to coat. Add noodles and stir fry for another 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Asian Lettuce Wraps (Pork)

1 lb. ground pork (local if available, ours is Huelskoetter Pork Beason, IL)
*you could also use ground chicken/turkey/beef if you'd prefer
1 head Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves (about 12 leaves)
1 Tbsp oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, shredded
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Sriacha sauce-optional*adds heat
salt & pepper


Rinse lettuce and dry leaves with a towel. Set aside. Cook ground meat with onion in a large skillet until meat is cooked. Drain excess oil off meat and set meat aside. Stir fry veggies in same pan as meat 5 minutes. Add hoisin, soy and Sriacha sauce, stir fry a few more minutes. Add meat and stir to coat meat with sauce. Taste mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in a bowl, so each person can serve themselves by placing a spoonful in a lettuce leaf, wrap it up and enjoy!

This made a great meal, even though the flavors were similar. It was a great texture variety! Complete the meal with some mini oranges or pineapple to balance out the savory sauces of the two dishes!

Enjoy!

Emmy

New Year, Fresh Start!

I've decided to try to renew my resolve to post more. I know how many people appreciate the recipes and such, but I just seem to find my time slipping away from me when it comes to blogging. I'd like to set a goal of one post a week and see if I can at least keep up with that. We don't stop eating, that's for sure.

The hubby and I have made a concerted effort to eat healthier. This all occurred after our "foodie vaca," which, if you've seen any of the pictures, was not a dieters vacation by any means. :) We enjoyed it none the less, but really were determined to make it through the holidays without gaining weight (we thought losing weight over the holidays was a setting ourselves up to be discouraged). We succeeded! Anyone who has ever tried to eat right, be healthier and lose weight we know how encouraging and empowering success like that can be.

Continuing this goal into the new year, we have continued see pounds leave in a healthy way. Portion control has been a biggy for us and using our small plates instead of the big dinner plates has played a huge role in winning the mental food battle-"this is it?"

Back to food-Skinnytaste.com has become my new go-to spot for delicious, healthy recipes! Seriously good food! So much variety and the recipes are bursting with flavor, but don't burst your waistline! Check it out!

Another big help has been the newest 4-legged addition to our family! Meeka, our spaniel/beagle/lab mix rescue pup joined our family on New Years Eve. She is a sweet, lovable, pup, but definitely still a pup. Lots of energy means the need to run and get lots of exercise, so we don't have our home chewed to ribbons-great motivation to get out and exercise! I've enjoyed jogging with her in the morning and jogging/walking her with my hubby in the evenings.

So, I'm hoping that this new year will bring you joy and good food! I hope to bring some of that good food to you through this blog! I love to hear what you think or what you'd like to see here.

Happy New Year
(I can still say that on January 25th right?)

Emmy

Foodie Vaca 2011: The Fruit Loop

Hood River Valley

Allison got us all set for our full day in the Hood River Valley and exploring "The Fruit Loop." She gave us a map with all of the orchards listed along the route and a description of each one's specialties, hours, etc. We made sure to find Packers Orchard and Bakery and she also gave us several other must see stops. This "loop" would have dreaming about honeycrisp apples, Star crimson pears and marionberry milkshakes for the rest of the trip!

Mt. Hood from the road

After a visit to Panorama Point to take in the lay of the land, we headed for the first few orchards on the loop. We drove through acres and acres of pear, apple and peach orchards at the peak of harvest for the apples and pears. We bought a few apples and pears at each place to try a variety of different kinds and they were all great. At one family run orchard, we were looking at some beautiful pears and the lady steered us toward a bin of the ugliest looking pears you ever did see. She sliced into one and we were in love in one bite. They were ripe, juice and calling our name, so we had to buy a few. :)

Enormous Apples!

Packer Orchard was a highlight because of our history with their cookies. Both times I had been to Oregon, we had gotten Packer's cookies at the Portland and Beaverton Farmer's Markets and they were heavenly! When I went to England, David decided that he would send me something special and he knew how much I liked Packers cookies. Well, the little stinker called them up and had a dozen cookies shipped to Illinois and then he shipped them off to England. I was in Germany when they arrived, but they were waiting for me, tasty as ever, when I returned. In a way it was a pilgrimage of sorts to be able to go to the actually bakery/orchard and get fresh cookies. Sorry no picture...they were eaten too fast!



For lunch we stopped at Apple Valley BBQ in Parkdale. I had been to Parkdale on my first visit to the Vally 5 years earlier, but didn't see much of the town. Really not much too see, but Allison was right when she said they had great BBQ. I got the lunch sampler with pulled BBQ pork and a few ribs with a choice of 2 sides. I wanted to try the baked beans, but I was curious about another side option...cornbread salad. I decided to ask the waiter what it was and he told me it was pretty much macaroni salad with cornbread instead of pasta. Sounded interesting so I gave it a whirl....BEST CHOICE EVER!!!! Wow was it good! I could have eaten a bowl of the stuff. I asked the waiter if they would share the recipe and he said he'd check with the owner who was in the kitchen. He was more than happy to share the recipe with me and even wrote it down on the back of a ticket. I'll post that recipe in the near future. David enjoyed his BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, pear slaw...and my cornbread salad...I was nice and shared..a bit. :)

After visiting more orchards, sampling some HUGE apples (see picture) and driving a 1/2 hour to Lost Lake only to find it fogged in, cold and rainy, then driving a 1/2 hour back to the highway, we stopped at Apple Valley Country Store. We bough some of the marionberry syrup that we had for breakfast that morning and sampled some jams. On Allison's recommendation, we tried a marionberry milkshake, which David is still talking about.
Lakecliff B&B

Our foodie adventure didn't end there. After a rest at the B&B and calling back home to listen to our church's Wednesday evening service, we headed out supper at Riverside at the Hood River Best Western. Allison told us that the new chef at the restaurant was doing some great things with the menu and thought we should give it a try...she hadn't steered us wrong yet! Our meal was phenomenal! We got a window seat on the water, but could see much since it was dark, but still nice.We started our meal with some great fried calamari with some fried fennel root mixed in. David got a pan-roasted chicken with homemade gnocchi, chanterelles and spinach. When the server brought my pasta he called it, "big boy chicken alfredo" and it was just that, with papperadelle pasta, super tender chicken, peas and a great cream sauce. We were so full, we didn't get dessert, but enjoyed tea and coffee after the meal. This was probably the #2 meal we had, just behind the Streamliner Diner. It was an excellent way to cap off our stay in Hood River! Thank you Allison for all of your great suggestions!

Once again, we experienced fresh local ingredients that just make a meal so much more enjoyable and tasty!

Foodie Vaca 2011: Hood River Valley Part 1

Tuesday found us leaving the Pacific Coast for the Hood River Valley about 3 hours away, but still along the Columbia River. We were looking forward to two nights at Lakecliff Bed & Breakfast in Hood River, OR. Allison was our gracious hostess and once we had a tour of the house, she gave us a suggestion for supper. Brian's Pourhouse was a great suggestion and we really enjoyed our meal, especially after rather disappointing supper the night before.

We started with some yummy pumpkin soup that had olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper on the top. The pumpkin was locally sourced, as was a lot of what we ate on our vacation. It's such a great way to support the local economy and have really tasty food in your restaurant, or on your own dining room table!

Anyway, our main courses were salmon and lamb stew. My Columbia River salmon was 10x better than the night before and came with green beans and a carrot sauce. David's lamb stew came with creamy polenta and was very tender.

A piece of chocolate cake was a great treat, since we really only get dessert on vacation or for special occasions.
Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of both our breakfasts at Lakecliff. However, both were heavenly! The first morning included fruit poached local pears with a cream cheese sauce, homemade local honeycrisp applesauce, French toast with marionberry syrup, and smoked bacon. The next morning included fresh fruit salad, more applesauce, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs and sausage. Allison did a fantastic job and we really appreciated all her help...she appreciated two Midwesterners who cleaned their plates! (she told us a lot of her guest are from California and the women often eat like birds :) ).

Wednesday was the bulk of our foodie adventures in the Hood River Valley!

Foodie Vaca 2011: Astoria, OR

We woke on Monday to sunny Oregon day and a wonderful smell coming from the ground level of the hotel. I was confused, because I knew that our hotel didn't have a restaurant, so we had to investigate where this wonderful smell was coming from. Little did we know, the hotel was connected to to a cafe that had a doorway into the lobby of the hotel. The breakfast menu was small, but delish! The place was called Street 14 Coffee House and their signature breakfast sandwhich was the Street 14, with grilled ham and Swiss cheese, finished off with a fried egg on top and a drizzle of maple syrup. YUM! I decided to try a breakfast panini, which was good too. It also had ham, with cheese, tomato, egg and basil. Their chai latte was wonderful and David enjoyed a cup of strong coffee while we planned out the rest of our day.

We visited Ft. Clatsop (Lewis and Clark's winter fort once they reached the Pacific), and made it to the coast. We decided that seafood was a must for lunch and Nora's in Seaside was perfect. I got clam chowder, even though it couldn't compare with Pike Place Chowder and a bacon cheeseburger. But wait! You said you wanted seafood for lunch on the coast??? Well, a burger sounded good and it had Tillamook Cheddar (made about 50 miles south of Seaside on the coast) and applewood smoked bacon on it. I'm claiming the clam chowder as my seafood. If I were to do it again, I would have gone with David's choice of salmon fish and chips. Never had battered and fried salmon before, but it was very good.

After wandering down to Cannon Beach, we headed back to Astoria and climbed the Astoria Column for wonderful, sunset vistas of the coast and mountains. Dinner was at Baked Alaska on the water front in Astoria. Less than thrilled overall with this choice, but not all bad. We tried some tempura prawns for a starter that were good (just not enough)! I got BBQ salmon with potatoes and brussel sprouts. Not impressed by the salmon, but that was righted later on in the trip. David loved his Chanterelle pasta alfredo and we both enjoyed that marionberry cobbler for dessert.

Foodie Vaca 2011: Seattle Day 2

The second day of our vacation was almost entirely devoted to food. We started with breakfast at BOKA Kitchen. I found that this restaurant uses a lot of local and organic products so we decided to try them out. Omelets seemed to be the perfect Sunday morning breakfast and boy were they good! Mine had a mix of spinach, chicken sausage & Gruyere cheese! Dave's was called the Lumberjack, with chicken sausage cheese and country gravy over the top. We shared some roasted Yukon Gold potatoes. I also really enjoyed my morning milk tea with Organic Stash English Breakfast tea.

After a relaxing in the hotel's rooftop hot tub, we ventured back downtown to meet up with our Seattle Food Tour group! If you're going to Seattle, we highly recommend this tour group for food tours of Pikes Place Market. We loved the tour and we loved our guide, Penny! We met at Vital Tea Leaf in the south end of the market. After sampling some teas we headed to DeLaurenti's Specialty Food & Wine and got to try some great cheese and a salami created by Mario Batali especially for DeLaurenti's. Both were fantastic!

Next was some yummy mini donuts from a little stand in the main section of the market...we had to come back and get a 1/2 dozen of these hot, sugary, little guys. We also sampled some dried fruit from a stand that does a lot of different dried fruits like cantaloupe and honey crisp apples. Penny took us to see the "gum wall," which was, in a word, disgusting.

All was made right with a trip to Bottega Italiana for some beautiful gelato. I've never had gelato in Italy, but I'm guessing this stuff is close. I tried the pumpkin gelato, while David had pineapple. Both were delish!

Next was The Crumpet Shop, where we had homemade English crumpets with butter and honey. This was the one place I had been to before, but not actually tried one of their crumpets...wonderful!

The next stop was very unique. A Filipino family runs a small lunch stand and shop in one of the corridors of the market. Penny knows the family quite well (it's an all woman show) and asked what she had cooking for the employees that we could try. It was a very basic fish and rice soup, but it was amazing! I really wanted to go back for more!

A stop for some honey crisp apples and smoked salmon came next, followed by our favorite food of the tour...Clam chowder! Pike Place Chowder has award winning clam chowder, as well as other seafood soups and chowders. We have never had clam chowder that was that good, but this was fantastic!

Our last stop was the Steelhead Diner, which had some good homemade ginger beer and we sampled some cheese with a kumquat compote. This was our least favorite, but we were still on a food high, so we didn't mind. We had to got back for more chowder and also tried a crab roll. I still have dreams about that chowder. :)

Quite food and happy, we made our way back to the airport to get a rental car, so we could head down to Oregon. It was about a three hour drive to Astoria, Oregon and we were only hungry again at about 9:30 at night. Since it was so late on a Sunday, we settled for pizza and relaxed in our room. Not sure on the calorie-count for the day, but we try not to think about it. :)