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

Baked Sweet and Sour chicken

 

My sweet husband has been living in a hotel. Eating out isn’t a good option for him because he has a wheat allergy. I make him four different meals each week, so he doesn't have to risk eating out. He has asked for sweet and sour chicken with fried rice for three weeks in a row now.

Does your family like to eat the same things over and over again?

It takes a little bit of time but it is easy, supper yummy and fulfills our cravings for the restaurant stuff we can’t have.

I like to serve this with Fried Rice.

Fried Rice

 

I LOVE easy recipes!

I love them even more when my family eats every last bite.

I found this recipe from Life in the Lofthouse, I've made a few changes because sometimes adding more garlic and veggies is just what I like to do.

If you want you could even add some chicken or diced ham and make it a meal!

I love using this recipe when cooking the rice.

Browned Butter Frosted Banana Bars

You know those three or four bananas that sit on the counter for a day or two longer than the rest and start to look up at you like forlorn little orphans?  They know they’re past their prime.  They know they’re not getting chosen to fulfill their lunchbox or afterschool snack destiny.  Nobody wants ‘em. 

Poor little neglected old maid bananas. 

Not anymore! This recipe is so good, I find myself buying extra bananas and hovering over them, just willing them to turn brown already. 
photo and recipe credit:  Life’s Simple Measures

(Confession:  I have been known to threaten my family, “If anybody touches these four bananas, they’re in big trouble!”)

White Bean, Bacon, & Spinach Soup

I just barely tried this recipe and had to share it because it was SO GOOD!  I think it would also be good with some Italian sausage or turkey sausage added in if you have a family that needs a little extra protein to call it a meal.  Or you could leave out the bacon and use tomato stock instead of the chicken stock if you wanted to make it vegetarian.  Recipe & Photo courtesy Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

I made a few slight modifications from the original, simply using what I had (canned tomatoes, bacon bits, and minced garlic) on hand rather than making a trip to the grocery store for fresh tomatoes, sliced bacon, or whole garlic cloves. I also purposefully didn’t puree it because I personally prefer a stew-y soup to a pureed one. 

Best Ever Whole Wheat Bread

It has been months since I have made this bread, and I kind of forgot just how good this recipe is!  This morning was cruelly cold and windy – pulling out the vestiges of winter even though the calendar knows it’s already late into April - and this kind of weather always makes me feel like making bread.  I also knew that a nice thick, buttery slice of this bread would be the perfect accompaniment to a new soup recipe I was trying out. 

photo courtesy Eat Cake For Dinner