General Tso’s Chicken

For years after discovering tiny spicy chicken, I searched and searched for the same dish at other Chinese restaurants, always to no avail.  Apparently, tiny spicy chicken is exclusive to Mandarin Gardens (and your own kitchen, now that you have a recipe to make something similar!).  One desperate day, I finally inquired at another favorite Chinese restaurant whether they might have something similar.  It pays to ask, because that day I finally learned that there is a similar dish known as General Tso’s chicken that is commonly found on a Chinese food menu.  While they are different, they both pack that sweet-and-spicy, tangy punch that I just love!  And while all restaurants have different recipes, I find I like most restaurant versions of General Tso’s.  That’s why I was thrilled to find one I could easily make at home.

photo courtesy and recipe adapted from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Tiny Spicy Chicken

When Sweet Mama shared her recipe (and The Sweet Mister’s love) for sweet & sour chicken last week, I couldn’t believe how similar it was to my own!  Great minds cook alike!  It also reminded me of a couple other similar recipes that my Saucy Family absolutely LOVES!  I’ll share them both today, but I’m going to give them each their own separate post.  They’re similar enough that you probably only need one of them in your Chinese food repertoire, but they’re both good enough to warrant at least one try apiece to decide which one your family prefers.  

This particular recipe is a knock-off of chicken dish they serve at a local Chinese restaurant.  Everybody I know who lives or has lived in Cache Valley knows about the Tiny Spicy Chicken at Mandarin Gardens!  I was so excited when I found a knock-off recipe; I couldn’t wait to try it!  I would say it’s not spot-on, but it is pretty darned close.  Close enough for me, since I can feed my entire family dinner and have leftovers for lunch tomorrow for the same cost of a single dinner plate at Mandarin Gardens!  Just my saucy style!recipe adapted from The Provident Homemaker; image courtesy Mandy’s Recipe Box

Southwestern Layered Cornbread Salad

I’m always on the lookout for a great new salad recipe, especially as the weather starts to get warmer.  I like this take on the seven-layer salad.  The sweet cornbread plays well with the salty bacon and the spice from the dressing and the jalapeno in the pico de gallo; the sour cream is a nice touch to cool everything off.  photo courtesy: http://www.woodslifeblog.com/2010/06/layered-cornbread-salad.html