Okay, so, if you're like me, meal planning week after week just gets monotonous sometimes doesn't it? Back in the day, going through some old cookbooks would be the monotony melter. A few years ago, the modern version of that would be watching a good dose of the Food Network for inspiration. Nowadays, Pinterest is our rescuer. But, even with that, time and energy is always an issue. Here's where children come into play. You know, those lovely little darlin's that you birthed, bathed and chopped up every morsel of food for? Time to pay up suckas. When there are THREE children you see, that live at home, are all quite handy in the kitchen, it's time to bequeath that honor. So, new household rule...each child cooks one night a week. Yippeeeee.
First up, the baaaaaby. Baby Rudy. A whopping 14 years old now and ever so capable of using an oven or stove top. This isn't her first rodeo though, she's whipped up quite a few things in the past couple of years. But, this was most certainly her first full meal deal.
I must admit, I did offer a bit of aid to her in the kitchen...I mean, how is a mama gonna sit there and let her baby cut up raw, slippery, chicken all by herself (*eyes fluttering)??? Ol' mom also made a side of fried rice to go along with her creation - you can check that out HERE. That's just because I was craving it and had to have it with her Orange Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry. Is that enough excuses for helping out the baaaaby?
I must admit, I did offer a bit of aid to her in the kitchen...I mean, how is a mama gonna sit there and let her baby cut up raw, slippery, chicken all by herself (*eyes fluttering)??? Ol' mom also made a side of fried rice to go along with her creation - you can check that out HERE. That's just because I was craving it and had to have it with her Orange Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry. Is that enough excuses for helping out the baaaaby?
WHAT SHE NEEDED:
FOR THE SAUCE:
1 cup orange juice
FOR THE SAUCE:
1 cup orange juice
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
(we sub'd Stir Fry Sauce that had oyster sauce as an ingredient)
2 teaspoons orange zest (we omitted this)
4 large cloves garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
FOR THE STIR-FRY:
3-4 lbs raw boneless chicken
6 or more cups - fresh veggies of your choice:
we used an assortment of baby carrots, broccoli, snow peas, and mushrooms
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
(we sub'd Stir Fry Sauce that had oyster sauce as an ingredient)
2 teaspoons orange zest (we omitted this)
4 large cloves garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
FOR THE STIR-FRY:
3-4 lbs raw boneless chicken
6 or more cups - fresh veggies of your choice:
we used an assortment of baby carrots, broccoli, snow peas, and mushrooms
salt/pepper
6 tablespoons cornstarch
olive oil
WHAT TO DO:
On a little aside, the FIRST thing she actually did was make dessert,
the day before!!! That's what I'm talking about!
Hey, we KNOW where our priorities are.
Mini cheesecakes made in muffin pans WITH
a salted caramel sauce on top. Uh, yummm.
Now, I could stop now and you would never even miss the entree, right???
But, we must continue.
Okay - when it became meal time,
Rudy made the orange sauce for the stir fry.
She got out our little ninja machine
and threw in all of the sauce ingredients and voila.
You could use a food processor or blender as well.
Set sauce aside.
Next, she began removing the fatty little parts of the chicken
(we are picky that way) and sliced them into bite size hunks.
While that was happening, me, the mom, preheated the oven to 350 and
roasted some veggies in little piles all on one large baking sheet.
I drizzled the fresh veggies with a little olive oil and
continually checked for done-ness as each veggie
required different cooking times.
Remove the ones that are slightly wilted but still crunchy
and keep cooking any others...the carrots for instance take a bit longer.
Salt and pepper the veggies please and set them aside.
In the meantime, toss the cornstarch and some more salt/pepper
on the raw chicken. Toss to coat each chicken piece.
Finally, place a large heavy saute pan
on medium-medium/high heat.
(a wok would be ideal - but we no have)
Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil in the hot pan and
stir fry the chicken until cooked through.
Add in cooked, roasted veggies (or raw if you'd rather
not cook ahead) and stir to combine.
Slowly add in the orange sauce to your liking.
I believe we used all that we had prepared.
Of course we did. We love sauce.
Now it's about time to call the troops to the table.
If you have some fried rice or just any rice -
and some soy sauce, even better...that would be most delicious indeed.
This recipe fed a family of five (most all adults)
with enough leftover for my hubby to take in his lunch the next day or two.
It could easily be dropped to half if you need less.
Rudy did such an awesome job.
As a mom it makes me so proud
because I know that with each cooking experience
she will become more confident and familiar with the kitchen,
how long things take to cook, slicing, dicing
and using seasonings for heavens sake.
It's a win for everyone.
Now, I must go whip them all because they are acting crazy.
Does it ever end?
ENJOY!
6 tablespoons cornstarch
olive oil
WHAT TO DO:
On a little aside, the FIRST thing she actually did was make dessert,
the day before!!! That's what I'm talking about!
Hey, we KNOW where our priorities are.
Mini cheesecakes made in muffin pans WITH
a salted caramel sauce on top. Uh, yummm.
Now, I could stop now and you would never even miss the entree, right???
But, we must continue.
Okay - when it became meal time,
Rudy made the orange sauce for the stir fry.
She got out our little ninja machine
and threw in all of the sauce ingredients and voila.
You could use a food processor or blender as well.
Set sauce aside.
Next, she began removing the fatty little parts of the chicken
(we are picky that way) and sliced them into bite size hunks.
While that was happening, me, the mom, preheated the oven to 350 and
roasted some veggies in little piles all on one large baking sheet.
I drizzled the fresh veggies with a little olive oil and
continually checked for done-ness as each veggie
required different cooking times.
Remove the ones that are slightly wilted but still crunchy
and keep cooking any others...the carrots for instance take a bit longer.
Salt and pepper the veggies please and set them aside.
In the meantime, toss the cornstarch and some more salt/pepper
on the raw chicken. Toss to coat each chicken piece.
Finally, place a large heavy saute pan
on medium-medium/high heat.
(a wok would be ideal - but we no have)
Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil in the hot pan and
stir fry the chicken until cooked through.
Add in cooked, roasted veggies (or raw if you'd rather
not cook ahead) and stir to combine.
Slowly add in the orange sauce to your liking.
I believe we used all that we had prepared.
Of course we did. We love sauce.
If you have some fried rice or just any rice -
and some soy sauce, even better...that would be most delicious indeed.
This recipe fed a family of five (most all adults)
with enough leftover for my hubby to take in his lunch the next day or two.
It could easily be dropped to half if you need less.
Rudy did such an awesome job.
As a mom it makes me so proud
because I know that with each cooking experience
she will become more confident and familiar with the kitchen,
how long things take to cook, slicing, dicing
and using seasonings for heavens sake.
It's a win for everyone.
Now, I must go whip them all because they are acting crazy.
Does it ever end?
ENJOY!
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