P.F. Changs Spicy Cicken

We love P.F. Changs and we usually get lettuce wraps to share and this Spicy Chicken to share. I wanted to have the recipe so I could make it more often.  This is a really good knock-off.






Printable Version Ingredients:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic ( 3-4 cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped green onions (about 3 onions)
1 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons chili sauce
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts or 4 tenders
1/3 cup cornstarch
Preparation
1. Make the suuce by heating 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in medium saucepan. Saute' the garlic and onion in the oil for a few seconds, not allowing the ingredients to burn, then quickly add the pineapple juice, followed by chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce.
2. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water and add it to the sauce ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil and continue to simmer on medium/high heat for 3-5 minutes until thick and syrupy.
3. Heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a wok or medium saucepan over medium heat.
4. While the oil heats up, chop the chicken breast into bite-size pieces.  I like to chop the chicken while it is still a little frozen because it is easier to cut.  In a medium bowl, toss chicken pieces in the 1/3 cup cornstarch until well-dusted.
5. Saute' coated chicken in the hot oil, stirring occasionally, until light brown. Remove chicken to a rack or paper towel to drain. Pour chicken into a medium bowl, add sauce and toss well to coat the chicken. Serve immediately with rice on the side.

Moo Goo Gai Pan

We used to eat moo goo gai pan in a little Chinese Restaurant in the Clear Lake area. It was so good.  They fried their chicken pieces. I don't think I ever tasted it that way since then. So I varied the recipe by coating the chicken with bread crumbs and frying it first. This is not necessary if you want to just pan fry it.




Printable Version Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts - cut in bite size pieces
2 T canola oil
2 T sesame oil
1 cup mushrooms - sliced
1 small red bell pepper cut in strips
3 green onions - chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger- minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic
2 cups snow peas - strings removed
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
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2 T cornstarch
2 T soy sauce
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Rice

Method
Heat oils in skillet. Add chicken and cook fully. Remove chicken and reserve. Add mushrooms and peppers to pan. Cook 2 minutes. Add green onions and ginger. Cook 1 minute. Add snow peas and broth to pan. Bring to a boil.    Mix soy sauce and cornstarch together in a measuring cup and add to mixture. Return to a boil Return the cooked chicken. Serve over rice.

Skillet Chicken with Roasted Carrots

I have an app on my phone called MYFitnessPal. They send me exercises, recipes, and hits to loose weight. This is the one for today.  I loved it. It is only 377 calories. I used chicken tenders, so I probably didn't have a whole chicken breast. This is how I adapted it for two people.

Printable Version Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken tenders
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 cup baby carrots
2 small red potatoes, halved (I used medium size potatoes and cut them in quarters
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon flour 1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, swirl to coat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet. Cook 5 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other side. Remove chicken from pan. Place potatoes and carrots, cut side down, in pan. Sprinkle with thyme. Place pan in oven and bake 10 minutes. Return chicken to pan and top with lemon slices. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Place chicken and vegetables on a plate while you make the sauce. Combine 1 cup milk, flour, and lemon zest in a bowl. Return pan to medium-high heat. Do not wipe out pan. Add flour mixture to pan. Allow to thicken and scrape the bottom to loosen brown bits. Cook until thickened. Add chicken stock and cook until desired thickness. Add remaining salt and pepper. Add the chicken and vegetables to the pan. Sprinkle with parsley. I cooked an additional 3 minutes because my potatoes weren't done.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a variation of The Pioneer
Woman's Recipe.  You can find hers Here I wanted to put potatoes, carrots, corn and green beans in mine. I would have also liked to add peas at the end, but I didn't have any. I used less liquid because I like a thicker filling.

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Finely Diced Onion
1/2 cup Finely Diced Carrot
1/2 cup Finely Diced Celery
1 cup potatoes - diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup fresh green beans- cut in small pieces
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cups Shredded Cooked Chicken Or Turkey
1/4 cup Flour
3 cups Low-sodium Chicken Broth, Plus More If Needed- I probably only used 2 cups
Splash Of White Wine (optional)--I did not add wine to mine.
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Chopped Fresh Thyme To Taste
1/4 cup Half-and-half Or Cream
1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust-- I made my own crust (recipe follows)
1 whole Egg
2 Tablespoons Water 

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
  
  Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the potatoes, onion, carrots, and celery. Stir them around until the onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add green beans, and corn.
  
  Stir in the chicken or turkey and then sprinkle the flour over the top and stir it until it’s all combined with the turkey and vegetables. Cook for 1 minute, then pour in the chicken broth (and wine if using) and stir it around and let it cook and thicken.
  
  Once it starts to thicken add the turmeric, salt, pepper, and thyme.
  
  Add the half-and-half or cream, then stir the mixture and let it bubble up and thicken, about 3 minutes. If it seems overly thick, splash in a little more broth. Turn off the heat.
  
  Pour the filling into a 2-quart baking dish. Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface and lay it over the top of the dish. Press the dough so that the edges stick to the outside of the pan. Use a knife to cut little vents here and there in the surface of the dough.
  
  Mix together the egg with 2 tablespoons water and brush it all over the surface of the crust. (You will have some egg wash left over.)
  
  Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly. To prevent the crust from getting too brown, you might want to cover it lightly with foil for the first 15 minutes of baking time.
• Note: This makes a huge amount of filling. I made two casseroles from this. I ate one tonight with some left over. And froze one for later.

No Fail Pie Crust --- Makes 2

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Pulse these three ingredients in a food processor to combine.

Add 

2 sticks cold butter cut in cubes - Pulse until coarse beads form.  

Add 1/2 cup cold water and Process until it comes together to form a ball.

Wrap: the dough in seran wrap and form into a disc. Refrigerate 1 hour. 

Cut:the dough in half and roll the dough to form a round or square disc  to cover the top of your casserole dish. Remove the plastic and place over the casserole dish. I actually made one for the bottom and one for the top of my chicken pot pie. So I had four tight discs. 

Chicken Pot Pie

I used several recipes to make this chicken pot pie, but the pie crust came from Here

For the Filling:

In a saucepan cook 2 potatoes, and 2 carrots until tender. I had some left-over green beans and some frozen peas that I threw in after the potatoes and carrots were fork tender. 

To a skillet add 1/4 cup of melted butter and 1/2 of an onion chopped. Cook this until the onions are soft. Add 1/4 cups of flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken broth and about 1/4 cup of milk.  Cook until thick.  Add the cooked   vegetables and onion mixture. Add 1 rotisserie chicken chopped into bite-size chunks. You can either put this mixture in a pie shell and then add the filling and then top with another crust, or you can put the filling in an oven proof dish and top with the crust. I like this method because I am eating less crust.

   INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the dough for the pie crust, mix 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon each salt and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Cut 2 sticks chilled unsalted butter into pieces. With a pastry blender, cut in butter, working until mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Add 4 tablespoons ice water; work with hands until dough comes together. If dough is still crumbly, add more ice water a tablespoon at a time (up to 4 more tablespoons). Do not overwork.
3. Divide dough in half, and flatten halves into disks. Wrap disks separately in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
4. To form the pie shell, roll the dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch round. Wrap around rolling pin and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate.
5. Fit gently into bottom and side of plate. Use kitchen shears to trim dough to a 1-inch overhang; fold under, and seal to form a rim.
6. Crimp rim with fingertips and knuckle. Repeat with remaining dough; wrap each with plastic, stack and freeze