The cost of dining out or ordering take out has become cost prohibitive for many Western New York families. This Examiner found that on average our family of four was spending $40+ on Chinese take out every couple of weeks.
But what can you do when mom and dad both work full time, or you have dozens of errands to run on a weekday, or the kids have a handful of activities such as sports or gymnastics or tutoring after school and you don't have time to cook?
Your crock pot can do the work for you while you're at work, running errands or at the kids' soccer or little league games.
The original recipe calls for the chicken breast halves to be left whole, but this Examiner has found that you can reduce the chicken from four chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds) to 2 or 3 chicken breast halves if you cut the chicken into 1 to 2-inch cubes. If you cut the chicken into cubes, you'll only need 1 to 1-1/2 pounds of chicken.
Boneless, skinless chicken breast thighs may also be substituted for the chicken breasts, if desired.
Orange chicken in the crock pot
Ingredients:
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced about 1/2-inch thick
2 large red or green bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
8 ounces orange juice concentrate
2 cans Mandarin orange segments, undrained
2 green onions, chopped (whites and greens)
2 cups hot cooked rice
Directions:
Put carrots, bell peppers, garlic, then the chicken, ginger, salt, pepper and frozen orange juice in crock pot. Cover and cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours. Serve chicken on hot cooked rice on platter. Top with orange segments and green onions. Serve chicken liquid in gravy boat, if desired.
Yield: approximately 4 servings
Rachael's Recipe Notes:
I like to use about 3 tsp. fresh ginger, finely minced, but if you don't have fresh, use the ground. If you don't like ginger, leave it out.
Thicken up the sauce with a cornstarch slurry (2 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. cornstarch; mix until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Mix into sauce and let sit for a minute).
I like to make some stir fry Chinese veggies to go with this. I use baby bok choy, baby corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and broccoli.
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