Dennis Family Files: Steve's Favorite Food

I made Weight Watcher General Tso's Chicken last night. This has been Steve's favorite meal since the first time I made it for him. Seriously. He told me last night that if he had to live on one meal a day it would be this recipe. And, the best part is that it isn't that bad for you cause it's not the typical fried General Tso's that everyone knows. So, I'll share it with everyone with pictures so I can show off my lovely kitchen in the house that we are renting that I absolutely despise (I was working with very little counter space)...

Also as a side note: This recipe is a little spicy and we love spicy so if you don't like spicy than it probably isn't the recipe for you.

WW General Tso's Chicken

So, you start out with quite a few ingredients BUT I will say that if you don't have them already and you have to buy them for this recipe, most of the ingredients will last you awhile and all you'll have to buy if you want to make it again is the chicken, scallions, and chicken broth

Ingredients:

3/4 cup canned reduced-sodium chicken broth (I use normal chicken broth, not reduced sodium) 2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons oil (I use vegetable oil but I'm sure it's fine with any type)
2 medium scallions, chopped (I think they are also called green onions)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced (I use two FULL teaspoons of the already minced jarred garlic)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups cooked white rice, kept hot (I use brown rice to be healthier and Success makes an instant brown rice that you just throw 1 packet in boiling water for ten minutes and you are done.)

Okay, so once you have all your ingredients out, I start out by taking a small or medium sized bowl and adding to it the: chicken broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, white whine vinegar, and ginger. I whisk it together for a second to mix in the cornstarch and set aside.

Next, I take a little bowl (mine is used probably for dipping sauces or au jus) and add to it the crushed red pepper and garlic. I think cut up the scallions with scissors and add that to the bowl too and set aside for a minute.

After this, I cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces. This is really all based on preference but I like smaller pieces of chicken rather than larger.

At this point, I put a pot of water on High for the instant brown rice. I let that get to a boil and then add the bag cause this will need to cook for 8-10 minutes and that's about how long the recipe takes to make.

Then, you will take a pan and heat over medium-high heat the oil.

Once the oil is hot, you'll add the red pepper flakes, garlic and scallions and saute that mixture for about 2 minutes. It will look like this...

Once that has cooked for about 2-3 minutes, add the chicken (that you have already cut up)

Let the chicken cook for about 5-6 minutes or until it is browned all over.

This was at the point where I had about 2 minutes left. The chicken doesn't need to cook all the way through but you should see any pink on the outside.

After about 5 or 6 minutes, the chicken should be cooked on the outside completely. Now, it's time to add the sauce that we whisked together at the beginning. I would give it one more whisk cause by now the cornstarch may have settled at the bottom again.

Now, add it to the pan with the chicken and keep stirring for about 3 or 4 minutes. The sauce will be very watery at first...

...but will thicken up due tot he cornstarch until it gets to the consistency of a thick gravy.

After about 3 or 4 minutes of stirring the mixture the chicken should have had the chance to cook through and it should be done. Your rice should also be done by now.

Spoon about a cup of rice into a bowl for you and your dinner date. I spoon way more in for my date but only about a 1/2 cup to 1 cup for me so I stick to the serving size.