Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

8 oz top sirloin, cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips
6 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp sesame oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp minced ginger

2 cups broccoli florets
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup Chinese pea pods, trimmed
6 green onions, cut into 1-inch-long pieces
2 tsp cornstarch

Combine first 7 ingredients and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Cook broccoli in small pot of boiling, salted water until almost crisp-tender, about 2 minutes; drain. Rinse under cold water to cool.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Using slotted spoon, tranfser beef to pan - RESERVING MARINADE. Stir-fry beef until just no longer pink - about 2 minutes. Remove beef from pan. Add broccoli, pea pods and green onions. Continue stir-frying until vegetables are just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Stir cornstarch into reserved marinade. Pour marinade over veggies in pan. Add beef and cook until liquid boils and thickens, 2-3 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Indonesian Ginger Chicken

1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root
4 chicken breasts (I use boneless, skinless)

Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger root in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted. Arrange the chicken in a shallow baking pan and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan with foil and marinate overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake until juices run clear (turning chicken over halfway through cooking time - or if it starts to brown too much).

Orange Chicken

Sauce:*

1 1/2 cups water
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced water chestnuts
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 rounded tsp chopped green onion
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
7 1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 tsp arrowroot**
4 1/2 Tablespoons water


In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all of the sauce ingredients, except the cornstarch, arrowroot and 4 1/2 Tbsp water. Stir often while bringing mixture to a boil. When sauce reaches a boil, remove it from heat.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with arrowroot. Add 4 1/2 Tablespoons of cool water. Stir until cornstarch and arrowroot have dissolved. Pour this mixture into the sauce and set the pan over high heat. When sauce begins to bubble and thicken, cover and remove it from heat.

Cook chicken according to directions on package:
Heat 1/4 cup oil in a non-stick skillet on med-high heat.

Remove chicken from bag. Place frozen chicken in a skillet and cook for 15-20 minutes. Turn chicken continuously to heat evenly until crispy and golden in color.

Pour sauce over chicken and bring to a simmer. Serve over rice.

*This makes a lot of sauce! If you like a lot of sauce for your rice (like us) then make the whole sauce recipe and cook with 1 bag of chicken (from box). If you are serving to more people, you can use two bags of chicken with this one sauce recipe.

**Arrowroot is similar to cornstarch, but better for you and thickens at a lower temperature than cornstarch. Here's a link with some interesting information about arrowroot. I found mine in the spice section of my regular grocery store. If are unable to find any arrowroot, I'm sure you could substitute cornstarch.

Teriyaki Chicken Wraps

Teriyaki Marinade

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup Sprite
1/2 tsp minced garlic

(She said the longer you marinate the chicken the better is, although she has marinated chicken for just one hour and it was great.)

I placed the chicken in a large ziplock bag, added the marinade ingredients, sealed it and stuck it in the fridge. A few hours later I had wonderfully marinated chicken, no leaks, no garlic smell in my fridge, and no dish to wash.

Oriental Chicken Wraps

These oriental chicken wraps rocked! I loved the fresh taste of the ingredients, and the Creamy Sesame Dressing is good enough to drink as a beverage (although it wouldn't quench thirst very well.)

Oriental Chicken Wraps
terriyaki chicken, shredded
mandarin oranges
bag of mixed salad greens
crispy chow mein noodles
sliced green onions
Creamy Sesame Dressing (recipe below)

Creamy Sesame Dressing
1 c. Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1/3 c. Sugar
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
5 Tbsp. Milk

Combine all ingredients & enjoy!