Cashew Chicken

Happy 2013! The holidays are over and now comes January, the month when I whip myself back into shape after all that holiday fun.  It’s time to really focus on some healthy meals.

 This recipe may look like too many ingredients and too much chopping and dicing.  Try some of the pre-chopped bagged vegetables that are available at most grocery stores, carrots already julienned, broccoli precut and cleaned and by all means use the little jars of ginger and garlic to save the peeling, grating and dicing.  You could easily substitute frozen carrots and broccoli for fresh. If you’d like to skip the chicken, tofu would work well in its place.  The jalapeno pepper adds just a hint of heat, if you’d like a bit more heat, add twice as much.  If you don’t have sesame oil on hand, just skip it, it adds a bit of extra flavor but isn’t absolutely necessary. 

This is really nice served over rice.  Brown, white, wild, your choice. 

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 ½ cups carrots (mini carrots cut into quarters lengthwise)

3 cups chopped broccoli

2 cups snow peas

¼ cup diced jalapeno (about 1 large jalapeno seeded and chopped)

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/3 cup green onions (scallions) sliced including most of the green tops

½ cup cashews

Begin preparing rice of choice if you plan to serve with rice.

Cut chicken thighs into 1 inch pieces and toss into Ziploc bag or mixing bowl and add corn starch to chicken, stirring or shaking until chicken pieces are lightly coated with corn starch.  Add oil of choice to wok or large sauté pan and briefly heat oil over medium high heat.  Add chicken to the pan and sauté until chicken begins to brown, about 4 or 5 minutes.  Add ginger and garlic to pan and sauté another minute or two.  Add carrots and jalapeno to pan and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes.  Add soy sauce and chicken broth to pan, bring to a boil.  Add broccoli and snow peas to pan and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes until vegetables are crisp tender.  Transfer mixture to serving bowl and top with green onions and cashews. 

This was really yummy!

Serves 4

Here are a few favorite Christmas ornaments old and new from our big tree.