Guilt-free Chinese

As i'm sure you have all noticed, major chain restaurants (those with more than 20 locations) are now required by law to post each dish's calorie content on their menu. I find this particularly annoying. 


I first noticed this information listed at P.F. Changs,The Habit and the Cheesecake Factory. Did you know that the Cheesecake Factory's "skinny" menu boasts "every meal under 590 calories!" I guess that seems like nothing compared to their Farmhouse Cheeseburger, which contains 3,210 mg of sodium and a whopping 1,530 calories. 


I understand these frightening numbers are listed for a reason and yes, I'm now able to make informed decisions based on them. My only problem is this--- did they really need to plaster the nutritional information for Panda Express on their giant lit-up menu? We all know it's terrible for us, but it's just too delicious to pass up. 


I bring you the solution- try my new recipe, it's 100% fat free and tastes even better than the real thing!

Fat Free Orange Chicken

Photo courtesy of Delanie Billman

Orange sauce:

1 cup water

1 cup orange juice

2 teaspoon galangal (or finely minced ginger)

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce (add more to taste)

Juice of ½ lemon

2 teaspoons orange rind

¼ cup red wine vinegar

½ tsp garlic powder

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

2 tbs water

Chicken:

12-14 ounces of chicken (two large chicken breasts)

2 tablespoons corn starch 

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

Juice of 1/2 orange

1 cup low sodium chicken broth 

Cut chicken into small, bite sized pieces. Place in bowl with cornstarch and toss until coated. Squeeze orange over mixture and soy sauce. Toss until coated evenly. Set aside in fridge. 

To make the sauce, whisk first 10 ingredients in skillet. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for about 20 minutes until slightly thickened. Mix together corn starch and water in small bowl, then slowly add too sauce. Stir until slightly thickened. Set aside. 

Heat 1/2 cup chicken broth in medium frying pan. Once simmering, slowly add in the pieces of chicken. Allow to brown (mine took about 6 minutes but it depends on how big your pieces are!) and flip over. Add the rest of chicken broth if pan starts to get dry. Cook until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Coat cooked chicken with the orange sauce. Serve over rice. 

Recipe request of the week- Blueberry Streusel Cake

This recipe is dedicated to all my girls in Dr. Sha's 481 class at SDSU. Enjoy! 

Brittany's Blueberry Streusel Cake 

• Batter: 
• 1/2 cup butter, softened 
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1 15 oz can blueberries, drained
•  
• Streusel topping: 
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup quick oats 
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened

Icing:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Juice from one lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9" metal baking pan. 

To make batter: In a large bowl, cream butter on low speed until smooth. Slowly incorporate sugar and beat mixture until smooth and fluffy. Add extract and eggs until blended. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.) Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to  butter mixture. Beat on medium just until blended. Set aside. 

To make streusel: Mix all ingredients with your hands until mixture resembles a course meal. Set aside.

Begin layering the ingredients in the pan. First, pour in half of the batter. Then half of the streusel, then half of the blueberries. Repeat. 

Bake in preheated oven for 35-55 minutes, depending on your oven. Cake is done when toothpick in center comes out clean. Do NOT overcook- no one likes a dry coffee cake! 

While cake is cooling, prepare the icing. Mix the powdered sugar and salt and slowly add lemon juice until icing is no longer a "goopy" consistency but still thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 

When cake has cooled for 10 minutes, drizzle over icing. Wait until cake is fully cooled before cutting. Store in cool, dry place. 

All Dressed Up and Nothing to Eat?

Sometimes I wonder if I was born in the wrong era. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned, but I find no greater pleasure in life than cooking up something delectable and revolutionary in the kitchen. In fact, I feel most grounded when my two feet are planted firmly on that cold kitchen tile and I’m surrounded by a world of possibilities.

Growing up, I remember helping my mother in the kitchen every single day. We spent our Sundays browsing Bon Appétit, planning the weekly menu, making a shopping list and going down every aisle at the grocery store. Then came the best part--- cooking together. We viewed this time (and still do) as the ultimate indulgence, where we acted as a synchronized team to whip up something thrilling. Maybe we wanted to try to mimic those amazing ‘avocado eggrolls’ from the Cheesecake Factory, or perhaps homemade pumpkin ravioli.

I learned several other lessons from my mother in the kitchen aside from simply cooking. For example, I’ll always remember her teaching me that “chocolate is a calcium serving” and “pumpkin pie is a vegetable.” I plan on living by these philosophies for the rest of my life.

During my college years, I learned to adapt my cooking talents to my changing environments. Freshman year, when I lacked a stove and oven, I learned the art of dorm-style cooking. I’ll always remember flipping blueberry pancakes on a small electric griddle, plugged into the bathroom, with all of my floor mates.

I’ve come up with the phrase “all dressed up and nothing to eat” as a way to describe the importance of a well-crafted meal. In an era where we spend so much time focusing on beauty, fashion and appearance, we ought to dress up our meals a bit more. Much like a great pair of shoes, preparing a carefully planned and beautifully executed meal can make you feel like a million bucks.