3.15.2012

Orange Chicken...Healthified!

You may have noticed the title of this post...
yes, I made up the word "healthified." 
It's a word I've been using a lot lately to describe 
what I've been trying to do to all of my favorite meals.
Orange chicken being one of them.
I LOOOVE Chinese food, but never realized until quite recently 
how quickly you rake in the calories by eating it!
So, I've resorted to seeking out healthy versions of the asian deliciousness.

Although I found an orange chicken recipe on hungry-girl.com, 
I decided to test this baby out first. 
And that, my friends, 
was one of the best decisions I've made all week! 
(That, and deciding to splurge on one (okay, three...) 
of those huge Cadbury caramel eggs. Pure heaven.)
The chicken turned out so light and tangy 
unlike the dense and calorie-filled nuggets of orange chicken
with which I usually stuff my face.
If you want to do yourself (and the ones you love) a favor tonight, 
or tomorrow night, or really any night of any week... 
TRY this recipe!

I wish I would have taken pictures throughout the cooking process, 
but I was in a bit of a hurry...So all I got was the finished product. 


Pictured is a stir-fry I also threw together. 
It was so simple and you can do it too!!
Here is all you need:

1 small box sliced mushrooms
3 carrots--peeled (you will be using the peels, don't throw that part away!)
1 small package of edamame--steamed/cooked and shelled
1 green onion--thinly sliced
2 cups cooked brown rice
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Garlic powder
Salt

Just throw the mushrooms in a medium-sized frying pan, and saute them in a small amount of liquid (I used probably 2 tsp of butter and a squirt of soy sauce--
the butter was obviously unnecessary, 
but it made the mushrooms oh so good!)
After the mushrooms have softened, about 3 minutes, add in the carrot peels
Add in some more soy sauce (probably about a Tbs) 
and let everything tenderize.
Then add in the edamame, green onion and cooked brown rice.
Add more soy sauce and sesame oil, just until flavored.
Also add 1-2 tsp of garlic powder and salt to taste.

And...It's done!
Within 10-minutes, you've made a simple side-dish that will 
have your lover swooning over your every move.
It's that easy!
And the best part about stir-fry is that you can add any amount of anything, and it all still tastes good and impresses guests.
Do you see why I love Chinese?

1 comment:

Jess said...

you love chinese!?!? meeeeee!!! :)
haha but really. that looks amazing. feed meee