Crispy Orange Chicken Stir Fry

Nuggets of crispy chicken, sitting on a bed of brown rice with stir fry vegetables enrobed in a light orange glaze, garnished with slivered almonds and slices of oranges. Try to say that 5 times fast, it's a mouthful and oh! so good.

I was sorting through some recipes that I tore from a magazine recently, and stumbled upon this recipe that received rave reviews.  The recipe was titled Applebee's Copycat Orange Big Bowl, even though I have never eaten the "original version" the combination of flavors seemed right up my alley.

So after a long day of pesach cleaning this quick and easy recipe was a real treat. Play around with the vegetable and starch combinations. This is a great recipe to use some leftover produce or starches.

Stir Fry Vegetables

Orange Glaze

Crispy Orange Chicken Stir Fry with Slivered Almonds
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup all-purpose flour
 Oil (for frying)

Glaze:
1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp orange zest
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
Dash cayenne pepper
1/4 cup  sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable Stir Fry:
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 bag cauliflower, carrot and broccoli stir fry mix
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk egg, salt, pepper and oil to combine, add in  chicken cubes. combine so that chicken is evenly coated, set aside. In another large bowl, combine the cornstarch and flour together and mix to combine. Add the chicken into the flour mix and coat each piece generously.

Pour about a 1/2 inch of oil into a heavy skillet and set it over high heat. Fry chicken pieces in small batches cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until it’s lightly brown and crispy. Remove the chicken from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain it on paper towels. Set it aside.

Stir Fry Vegetables: In another skillet, add oil  and remaining vegetables and cook until vegetables are cooked thru but still slightly crisp.

Prepare Glaze,  Add 2 tbsp. of oil and put it over medium heat. Saute the minced garlic for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredient in and bring the mixture to a boil. Make sure to stir this for 3 minutes and reduce the heat and simmer for  5 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Pour the glaze over vegetable mixture add in chicken and stir heat thru over high for 2 minutes. Serve over a bed of rice and garnish with slivered almonds, and slice of fresh orange.

Take me out to the ballgame!

Purim traffic, and the hustle and bustle shesh! one long exhausting day. I didn't think this would be a blog post but with so many emails this morning on how did I do it?? I figured why not? So with out further or do...

We were baseball players! I ordered our costumes from here . Since our last name starts with a "B" I played off the B logo everywhere. I filled a three sectional glass dish with concession stand treats, Gatorade, blue and red candy, hot pretzel and of course cracker jacks and no ballgame is complete without the burgers and fries.

 My inspiration came from  bakerella for the fast food cakes. I made whoopie pies as the "bun" sprinkled drops of water when finished baking and added some sesame seeds. For the burger made a basic brownie recipe and cut out circles using a round cookie cutter. Last but not least the fries, I used my go to sugar cookie recipe sprinkled some sugar on before baking so it should resemble salt. Packed it in a red and white container with a checkered napkin finished with ketchup and mustard packets.

Tied the package in cellphone, some diffrent shades of blue rafia and a baseball ribbon tied with a small baseball bat.

Sweet and Sour French Roast

I made this recipe many times, the long way over the stove searing the meat, rotating it every half hour, and seems like this roast just wants to be left alone, let him do his thing and surely wont disappoint.This is one of the simplest recipes and the best french roast I ever tasted. It is simple, quick and easy ... perfect every time.

Sweet and Sour French Roast
1 3 lb French Roast
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup

Place all Ingredients in a resealable bag and place in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.

Pour all ingredients into roasting pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 3 hours at 325 degrees. Remove roast from pan let rest for a minimum of a half hour before slicing.

Hamentashen Trio

 Purim! Purim! How I love thee. This time of year with all the hustle and bustle we don't have time to mess around in the kitchen. Its more like go in, take care of buisness and exit without making the kitchen look like a tsunami.

 I love having small nibbles for people to enjoy when they stop by with the shalach manos delivery. It's a one two biter, light, scrumptious and satisfying. This appetizer trio is simple and a perfect make ahead dish, and would be great for a sueda tag along. I used some of my favorite empanadas and boureka filings and filled them into pre cut puff pastry squares. I know! so simple shh! its our secret nobody has to know.  

Mushroom Onion and Thyme Pate with Creamy Sriracha Sauce

Deli Mashed Potatoes with Mustard Caper Sauce

Spicy Salsa Beef Crumbles with Salsa Sauce

Mushroom, Onion and Thyme Pate

1 onion. chopped

1 box cremini mushrooms, chopped

1 sprig fresh thyme
1/4 cup dry red wine
kosher salt and cracked black pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil

Sauté onions in olive oil, add salt and pepper , cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme and cook for additional 10 minutes on low flame. Add red wine and cook until liquid is evaporated. remove from heat and set aside. For a thicker consistency you may add 2-3 tablespoons of plain bread crumbs

Chic Tip:
Never rinse mushrooms under water, mushrooms are sponges and will absorb all the water simply take a damp cloth and clean off mushroom caps. Best way to remove the gills is with a spoon.

Creamy Sriracha Sauce

3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Sriracha
1 tsp. lemon juice

Whisk all ingredients until combined.

Deli Mashed Potatoes

1 large onion, sliced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. black pepper
6 slices pastrami, sliced
2 cups instant mashed potatoes ( I used the haddar brand)
2 Tbsp. margarine
2 1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup non dairy creamer

Sauté onion in olive until caramelized, remove from heat into glass bowl and combine with pastrami and set aside.

Bring water and non dairy creamer to a boil add salt, black pepper and margarine. remove from heat add potato flakes. Combine potato and onion mixture. set aside.

Mustard Caper Sauce

3 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
2 tsp. capers, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise

Whisk all ingredients until combined, serve chilled

Chic Tip:

This sauce is perfect over roasted fish or chicken

Spicy Salsa Beef Crumbles
1lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup onion, minced
7 Tbsp. spicy salsa
3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
salt and black pepper

Heat olive oil in large skillet, add meat and brown while breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to drain the meat. Remove from heat to glass bowl add remaining ingredients. stir to combine and set aside.  

Chic Tips: Serve with remaining salsa as a dipping sauce

To Assemble:
Yields: 72 Hamentashen
Puff Pastry Dough pre cut squares- 36 per a package.
egg wash

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

With a small ice cream scoop place a scoop of filling into the center of each dough. moisten the corners with egg wash and pinch corners together to form a triangle. Brush entire hamentash with egg wash and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until puffed and golden, serve with dipping sauce.
 
Chic Tip:
Hamentashen can be prepared fully and frozen until ready to use. Remove from freezer, brush with egg wash.