Sweet and Sour Chicken

I have to say that I am not one for much Chinese Food, but I really love this Sweet and Sour Chicken. This recipe is not difficult to prepare, you can make it to feed a crowd and it tastes delicious to boot!

Heat up a large skillet over medium heat. Start with some chicken breasts (use as many as will get eaten), dip them in some beaten eggs and then dredge in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Shake gently to remove excess.

Add 1/4 inch oil to your skillet and fry those chicken breasts until they are golden and crispy.

Place the browned chicken in a large, shallow casserole. Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup white vinegar, 6 cubes chicken bouillon, 1 cup hot water, 1 cup ketchup and 6 tablespoons soy sauce. Pour sauce over the chicken.

Place in a cold oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 45-60 minutes. Serve over cooked rice. Or you can really go for the gold and serve it with Bacon Fried Rice.

Bacon Fried Rice

Whoa back! This recipe makes a ton so be ready to feed a crowd. (Or cut it in half and just feed your family.) I like to serve it along with eggs rolls for a complete meal.

Start with 4 cups cooked rice. (That's 2 cups uncooked rice.) I usually cook the rice at lunch time because the rice needs time to cool or else it will be all gummy and won't fry up very well.

Then fry up about 1 lb of bacon, be sure to reserve the drippings! Once your bacon is cooked crumble it up and put it in a large serving bowl. If you don't have bacon, chopped ham works well too, just use vegetable oil for frying.

Heat up a wok or a large, rimmed griddle to medium high heat. Using a little of the reserved bacon fat fry up 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms and 6-8 sliced green onions. You can also use a can of mushrooms if you don't have fresh. Cook until mushrooms are tender. Set aside with bacon. Add 10 oz. pkg frozen peas and cook until tender and heated through. Add to mushrooms and onions. Next scramble 6 eggs until eggs are set. Remove to serving bowl.

Now comes the fun part. Using more of the reserved bacon drippings fry the rice. Stir it around until rice starts to separate and is heated through. Add soy sauce to taste. Add all the vegetables. Cook and stir until heated through. Serve hot.

For some reason I didn't get a picture of the finished product, but I think you know what fried rice looks like. Delicious!

Here's the recap:

Bacon Fried Rice

2 cups rice, uncooked

1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled, reserve fat

6-8 green onions, sliced

1 C sliced mushrooms (or 1 can)

1-10 oz. package frozen peas

6 eggs, beaten

soy sauce

Cook rice according to package directions; Cool and set aside.

Using reserved bacon drippings fry onions, mushrooms and peas over medium-high heat. Set aside in a large serving bowl. Scramble eggs in reserved drippings. Add to veggies. Fry the rice in reserved drippings adding soy sauce to taste. Add cooked vegetables and heat through. Serve hot.

Sausage Egg Rolls

Mmm...egg rolls. I have to admit I'm not really a fan of Chinese food. Egg rolls are an exception and they're fairly easy to make at home. Here I have 6 green onions, sliced, 3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped, 1 carrot, grated, and 1 can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped. I cut everything pretty small because it cooks quickly, fits in better and is less likely to break through the fragile wrap.

Then brown 1 lb pork sausage and drain.

Season with a little bit of salt and 1 tsp *Accent. Mix pork and veggies. Add one egg, lightly beaten, and stir it all together. It will look like this.

You will need 1 package of egg roll wraps. (If you don't know where to look for them I usually find them in the refrigerated section near the vegetables.)

Now preheat your deep fryer full of oil to 375 degrees. Since the egg rolls cook in batches I also like to line a rimmed baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels and heat my oven to it's lowest temperature - 170 degrees - just so that I have a warm place to keep the cooked egg rolls while the others are frying.

Rolling the egg rolls is simple, although it can take a couple of tries to perfect the technique. My husband was nice enough to man the camera so I could use both hands to demonstrate. He first felt it necessary to take a candid of my derriere, which I have thoughtfully not posted...you're welcome.

Place the wrap on your work surface at an angle. Spoon about 2 Tbs of sausage filling corner to corner.

Fold the bottom corner up over the filling. Tuck wrap firmly around filling.Fold the side corners firmly against the end of the filling. It looks like an envelope.

Roll the egg roll once up onto the remaining corner.

Dip your finger in water and moisten the exposed flap.

Roll the egg roll over the flap to seal.

Place egg rolls, 3 or 4 at a time, seam-side down in the fryer basket. Cook until golden, turning if necessary. Remove egg rolls from fryer basket with tongs. Place on prepared baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Or if you have a warming drawer with your oven you can use that. Also, should you have a warming drawer...I hate you. Okay, maybe I'm just jealous.

Here's the recap:

Sausage Egg Rolls
1 lb pork sausage
6-8 green onions, sliced
3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Accent
salt
1 pkg egg roll wraps (about 20)
hot oil for frying

Brown sausage and drain. Combine sausage, onions, celery, water chestnuts, carrot and egg. Stir in Accent and salt. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Spoon 2 Tbs filling into egg roll wrap and roll, burrito style. Place 3-4 egg rolls, seam side down in oil. Cook until golden. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

*Accent is monosodium glutemate (MSG.) This ingredient is optional.