Sweet & Sour Chicken

We were having trouble finding a way to enjoy the Breaded Chicken Breast Fillets. We had a lot of this particular chicken because I bought two Angel Food boxes that month. We tried frying them and eating them on buns, which was "okay" but nothing great. Tonight I tried something else. I altered a Sweet & Sour chicken recipe a little bit to make it work with the fillets. The family gave it FIVE STARS!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

5-7 Breaded Chicken Breast Fillets
Garlic Powder
Oil (to fry in)

Sauce:
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. ketchup
2 T. soy sauce
1/4 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. cornstarch

Cooked Rice (to serve)

Sprinkle the breaded chicken breast fillets lightly with garlic powder. Heat a 1/2 in. or so of oil in a large skillet and when the oil is hot enough put the chicken in the oil to fry. When the chicken is browned on one side, flip over and cook until browned on the other side. When browned and cooked through, remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, begin to prepare the sauce. Combine the six sauce ingredients in a bowl and either whisk together, or if you bowl has a lid, put on the lid and shake until thoroughly blended.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, move it to a cutting board and cut into chunks. Put the chicken in a large skillet and pour the sauce over the chicken. Heat on medium heat, constantly stirring, until the sauce thickens.

Serve over a bed of rice.

Family-Style Vegetable Soup

This uses the ground beef and mixed vegetables in the May Angel Food box (If I'm not mistaken). We also made corn muffins to eat with it, which was also an Angel Food item. The soup was tasty and filling. We gave this recipe FIVE STARS.

Family-Style Vegetable Soup

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound ground beef round

1 garlic clove, minced finely

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoons black pepper

2 cans (15 ounces) diced tomatoes

1 can (14.5 ounces) tomato sauce

1 can (14 to 14.5 ounces) beef broth

1 package (16 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables

1 bay leaf

½-1 t. dried basil

½-1 t. dried oregano

½ t. dried parsley

1 cup uncooked macaroni, or 1 cup spaghetti broken into 1-inch pieces

1. Place the olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble in the ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Add the salt and pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the beef browns all over and is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the 2 cans of tomatoes with their liquid, tomato sauce, and the beef broth, frozen vegetables, bay leaf, basil, oregano, and parsley. Fill both the tomato cans with water, add this to the pot, and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let the soup simmer until the flavors blend, 20 minutes.

2. Stir in the pasta and cover the pot. Let the soup simmer until it has thickened somewhat and the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. To serve, ladle the soup into serving bowls. The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Best Wishes and Best Dishes!

I enjoy cooking blogs, although I don't have time to visit them very often. But, I thought it might be fun to start my own.... this will be quite different than others. Since Mark's job loss, we've begun participating in a ministry called Angel Food Ministries. For $25 you get a box of food that they say is valued between $50-70. The box contents are pre-determined by the ministry and you don't have any choices (except that you can add some specialty boxes to your purchase).

Sometimes the challenge is to determine how to use items that are in the box! I thought it might be fun to use this blog to share what I make from my box. I'd love to have people comment and share what they have done with their Angel Food box items, too.

Best wishes and best dishes! (That's what Paula Deen says, isn't it?)