Jennifer Lambert

A Sacred Balance

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Cashew Chicken

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By 7 Comments

Cashew chicken is a favorite at our house.

It’s easy to make on a weeknight.

It’s even easy enough for my kids to make it!

Everyone loves it – even my baby niece who eats next to nothing. They now call it “Aunt Jennifer’s Chicken.”

We chop up boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite-size chunks. Sprinkle on a little cornstarch and stir in some sugar, salt, sesame oil, and soy sauce. We let it sit for about 30 minutes. This makes a delicious crust when it’s stir-fried in hot oil. We use peanut oil, but coconut oil or olive oil works well too. We avoid canola and most other oils.

Marinating Chicken

My kids love to help by chopping up veggies and setting the table. They often help cook too! The hot oil is a bit too dangerous – even for me. The husband usually does that part.

Yes, she knows she’s supposed to have her hair pulled back. Sigh.

Chopping Vegetables

My husband heats up peanut oil in the wok. He stir-fries the chicken in batches.

Sauteeing Chicken

After stir-frying the chicken, we let it drain in a colander.

He stir-fries the veggies, then adds the chicken and sauce in.

Draining Chicken

These are our favorite cashews.

Our Favorite Cashews

I blend the sauce in a measuring cup. It’s just chicken stock, cornstarch, and Hoisin sauce. Super simple but very flavorful! I often use lots of minced garlic.

Sauce for Cashew Chicken

I like onions, peppers, and mushrooms in mine. The kids prefer just water chestnuts. I make jasmine rice and usually steam some broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower also.

We always have happy kids on Cashew Chicken night!

Cashew Chicken for Dinner

 

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Cashew Chicken

Course Main Dish
Cuisine Asian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 4-6 chicken breasts or thighs boneless skinless
  • 1 c vegetables water chestnuts, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc.
  • 2-3 T peanut or coconut oil
  • 1/2 c cashews

Marinade

  • 2 T soy sauce
  • 2 T sesame oil
  • 2 T cornstarch
  • 1 T sugar

Sauce

  • 1 T cornstarch
  • 1.5 c chicken stock
  • 2 T hoisin sauce

Instructions

  1. Slice chicken into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Roll chicken pieces in cornstarch. Marinate in soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar.
  3. While chicken is marinating, chop veggies and prep rice. Mix sauce in a small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside.
  4. Stir fry chicken in small batches in wok or large skillet. Drain in colander or on paper towels.
  5. Stir fry or steam veggies.
  6. Return chicken to pan and pour in sauce. It should thicken quickly. Add veggies to saucy pan if desired. Sprinkle cashews over top. Garnish with cilantro if desired.
  7. Serve over jasmine rice.

Other Kids in the Kitchen recipes:

Raspberry White Frozen Hot Chocolate – Cooking with Kids | The Gifted Gabber

Super-Healthy and Super-Yummy Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie | Living Montessori Now

Linking up: LouLou Girls, Modest Mom, Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth, Tell Me a True Story, What Joy is Mine, Pat and Candy, VMG206, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Southern Beauty Guide, Classical Homemaking, Holly Barrett, Holley Gerth, Live Laugh Rowe,  Feeding Big, Creative K Kids, Life Beyond the Kitchen, Sincerely Paula, Create with Joy, Happy and Blessed Home, Juggling Real Food and Real Life, Sugar Spice and Family Life, Being a Wordsmith, Strawberry Butterscotch, Saving 4 Six, Kids Activities Blog,
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Dill Chicken Soup

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By 6 Comments


The kids love this creamy dill chicken orzo soup in springtime – or anytime!

It’s a great way to use chicken leftovers.
Or, I roast some seasoned chicken breasts in the oven while I prep everything else.
I seasoned these with paprika, garlic, lemon, salt, and pepper. I drizzled olive oil to make sure they didn’t stick to the pan.
Roast Chicken Breasts
A super easy way to shred cooked chicken is to use the paddle attachment on the stand mixer.
paddle stand mixer
Give it a whirl until it’s the desired shredded consistency.
shredded chicken
I sliced a leek, chopped some celery and carrots. Close enough to the holy trinity of cooking: mire poix.
mire poix
I sauté those up in a little butter and bacon grease.
vegetables
You need a good chicken stock. We usually have some homemade chicken stock in the freezer. But we like Kitchen Basics too.
chicken stock
I dump in the frozen stock and put a lid on it. It melts in a just few minutes.
melt frozen stock
I prefer fresh dill, but we used dried this time.
dill and orzo
I throw a handful of sea salt in a pot to boil the orzo al dente.
salted water
When the water has big bubbles, I dump in about a cup of orzo.
1 cup orzo
I drain the orzo and spritz on some olive oil so it doesn’t get all sticky.
drain orzo
The stock is melted, so I blend the vegetables with my stick blender.
stick blender
The soup is hot, so be careful with the blender.
blend soup
It’s all pretty now.
blended soup
I add in the orzo and shredded chicken. I sprinkle in about 1 T of dill.
about 1 T dill
It smells amazing.
dill chicken soup

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Dill Chicken Soup

The kids love this creamy dill chicken orzo soup in springtime - or anytime!
Course Soup
Cuisine Soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 T olive oil or bacon grease
  • 4-6 chicken breasts or thighs boneless, skinless
  • 1 leek sliced
  • 1-2 stalks celery chopped
  • 1-2 carrots chopped
  • 6 c chicken stock
  • 1 c orzo cooked to al dente
  • 1/4 c fresh dill or 1 T dry dill
  • 1-2 T lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Season and roast chicken breasts in oven at 350* until cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Or use leftover rotisserie chicken.
  2. Cook leek, celery, and carrot, in oil or grease, stirring often, until soft, 5-8 minutes.
  3. Set water and salt to boil. Cook orzo according to instructions. Drain. Drizzle with oil so it doesn't stick together.
  4. Add broth to vegetables and bring to boil.
  5. Shred chicken with stand mixer or forks.
  6. Blend vegetables and broth with stick blender.
  7. Add chicken, orzo, and dill to soup and warm.
  8. Season with lemon, salt, and pepper.

Dill Chicken Orzo Soup

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Chicken Marsala

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Our stuffed chicken marsala is sweet and salty and layers of deliciousness.

Stuffed Chicken Marsala

I get very thin chicken breasts and stuff them with cheese, spinach, and prosciutto or ham. I salt and pepper and flour them and then sear them in olive oil.

searing the chicken

I drain off most of the oil.

par cooked chicken

Add chicken stock and Marsala wine.

marsala

Add the chicken back to the soup and let simmer until fully cooked and the liquid is reduced and thick.

marsala simmering

Look at those layers! Gorgeous.

layers of yumminess

Now that my kids are growing up and becoming rather large eaters, I have to buy a lot of chicken to feed our little army. I love using my All-Clad Saute Pan!

 

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Chicken Marsala

Course Main Dish
Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

  • 1 package thin-sliced chicken breasts or butterfly regular breasts
  • 1 package Prosciutto or thin ham
  • Provolone, Parmesan, or Gruyere thin cheese slices
  • baby spinach leaves
  • basil or sage leaves
  • 1 small sweet onion or shallot, chopped
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 package sliced button mushrooms
  • 1/2 c olive oil
  • 1/2 c Marsala wine
  • 1 c chicken stock

Instructions

  1. Stuff chicken breasts with ham, spinach, sage, and cheese. Roll and toothpick closed.
  2. Salt and pepper and flour and set aside.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Sauté onions, mushrooms, and garlic (I actually do this in butter in a separate pan since no one else eats this). Sear chicken on all sides and set aside.
  4. Drain all the oil except a couple tablespoons.
  5. Add stock and wine to pan. Return chicken to the pan with onions, mushrooms, and garlic.
  6. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and soup reduces. About 30 minutes.
  7. Serve with pretty noodles and steamed asparagus or broccoli. Lots of shredded Parmesan cheese and garlic bread.

Linking up: Kids Activities Blog, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Our Table for Seven, The Recipe Critic, Your Homebased Mom, Eats Amazing

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